
Qass Vt^ — 

Book -C 5C 3 



1\ 



CONSTITUTION 



OF TUK 



CAPE COD ASSOCIATION, 



AN ACCOUNT 



CELEBRATION OF ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY, 



AT BOSTON. 



NOVEMBER 11 tu, 1851 




BOSTON: 

18 52. 

EASTB URN'S PRESS 



/ 



^i 



CONSTITUTION 



CAPE COD ASSOCIATION, 



AN ACCOUNT 



CELEBRATION OF ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY, 



AT BOSTON. 



N O V E Jl B E R 1 1 T H , 18 5 1. 



o2.f 




[PTBLISII Kl> nv ORDKK OF THK ASSOCIATION.] 



B O vS T N : 

18 5 2. 
E A R T p. U R \ ' s r u r. S s . 






iti 



THE CAPE COD ASSOCIATION. 



A very general desire having been for some time expressed 
among the sons and descendants of Cape Cod, residents of 
Boston and vicinity, that there should be some more direct 
and agreeable method than had before existed, for bringing 
into acquaintance, and familiar, social communion, all those 
who claim a common Cape Cod origin ; a meeting was called, 
at the American House, with a view to the adoption of some 
measures for the accomplishment of that desired end. A goodly 
number of gentlemen, natives of the dillerent towns of the 
Cape, having been thus assembled, on the evening of Feb- 
ruary 10th, 1851, after general consultation and interchange 
of sentiment upon the subject, it was determined to organize 
a society for the purposes above indicated ; and, accordingly, 
a Committee was appointed to prepare articles of association 
and a Constitution, for the consideration of a future meeting, 
to be called by the Committee when they shall be ready to 

report. 

The Committee appointed as above, having publicly called 
a meeting of those interested, agreeably to their instructions, 
a large assembly was consequently gathered at Cochituate 
Hall, on the evening of May 12th, 1851. At this meeting 
the Hon. Francis Bassctt was called to preside, and Charles 
Mayo, Esq., appointed Secretary. The Hon. Benjamin F. 
Hallett, chairman of the Committee before mentioned, then 
reported to the meeting a form oi Association, and a Const i- 



tution for its government, which after some discussion was 
unanimously adopted, and the Association was then, in con- 
formity to the provisions of that Constitution, organized hy 
the election of the following gentlemen as its officers for the 
first year, viz. : 

PRESIDENT, 

DAVID SEARS. 



VICE PRESIDENTS, 



WILLIAM STURGIS, 
LEMUEL SHAW, 
DANIEL C. BACON, 
BENJAMIN BANGS, 
PRINCE HAWES, 
BENJAMIN BURGESS, 



BENJ. F. HALLETT, 
JOSHUA SEARS, 
FRANCIS BASSETT, 
ROBERT BACON, 
THOMAS THACHER, 
S. K. LOTHROP, 



JOHN G. PALFREY. 



TREASURER, 

ISAAC THACHER. 



CORRESPONDING SECRETARY 



HENRY A. SCUDDER. 



RECORDING SECRETARY, 

WILLIAM S. THACHER. 



CONSTITUTION 

or TlIK 

CAPE COD ASSOCIATION 

IN BOSTON. 



Its Object. To encourage and promote among all the native 
born and descended of Cape Cod,— temperance, industry, sin- 
cerity, good humor, charity, the social affections and generous 
sentiments. 

Article I. 

All natives of Cape Cod, and their descendants, who are resi- 
dents of Boston and its vicinity, may become members on signing 
the Constitution, and conforming to the By-Laws. Each member 
shall pay three dollars, on admission, for the first year, and there- 
after three dollars annually, so long as he shall continue a member. 

Article II. 

Any person paying fifty dollars shall become a Hfe member, and 
may direct to what object of the Association his subscription shall 
be appropriated; and whenever five hundred dollars shall be 
raised by life subscriptions or donations, it shall be set apart as a 
fimd, to 'be appropriated as the xVssociation may direct by its By- 
Laws, with the consent of such life subscribers and donors. 

Article III. 

The Officers of the Association shall consist of a President, 
thirteen Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, a Recording Secretary, 
and a Corresponding Secretary. The Board of Officers shall 
constitute a Standing Committee, a majority of whom shall forai 
a quonim for business, and may hold meetings at such times as 
they may appoint. They shall annually, at their first meeting, 
elect an Executive Committee of four, to manage the concerns of 
the Association, and to recommend such measures as they shall 
think proper for the general benefit, of which Committee the 
Trca.surer and Secretaries shall be additional members, ex officio. 



Article IV. 

The Board of Officers may form By-Laws for the management 
of the concerns of the Association, which shall take efifect if 
adopted at any regular meeting of the Association by a vote of 
two-thirds present. 

Article V. 

The Eecording Secretary shall keep a correct account of the 
proceedings of the Association, and of the Board of Officers, 
which shall be open to the inspection of the members. The Cor- 
responding Secretary shall make and preserve all communications 
and matters of interest to the Association. The Treasurer shall 
keep the money and funds of the Association, and pay out the 
same in pursuance of the orders of the Executive Committee, and 
render an account thereof annually at a meeting of the Asso- 
ciation. 

Article VI. 

An Annual Meeting for the choice of Officers and transaction 
of business shall be held on the eleventh of November, the anni- 
versary of the adoption of the first written Constitution of Govern- 
ment among men, which was framed on board the Mayflower, 
in the harbor of Provincetown, 1620. Quarterly meetings shall 
be held on the eleventh days of February, May and August. 

Article VII. 

The Quarterly Meeting in August may be held at any place on 
Cape Cod which the Board of Officers shall designate. 

Article VIII. 

The receipts beyond the necessary expenses of the Association 
shall be invested by the Treasurer, to be reserved for a fund that 
shall be appropriated and applied, at such time, and for such gen- 
eral purpose or definite object, as the Association, at an Annual 
Meeting, shall devise by some provision in amendment of the Con- 
stitution. Voluntary subscriptions and donations shall be received 
and appropriated in aid of such fund. 

Article IX. 

The regular meetings of the Association shall be notified by 
publication in some newspaper in Boston, and the members pres- 
ent shall constitute a quorum for transacting business. The Con- 
stitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the Associa- 
tion by a vote of two-thirds present, provided notice of such 



amendment shall have been given to the Board of Officers at a 
meeting of the Board previous to the meeting of the Association 
at which such proposed amendment shall be considered ; but no 
amendment of the Constitution shall be made unless at least 
twenty-five members present shall vote for such amendment. 

Article X. 

All persons who have subscribed the agreement to form this 
Association shall become members on signing this Constitution, as 
is provided in the first Article ; and thereafter, any person com- 
ing within the rule of membership, who shall present his name to 
any member of the Executive Committee, shall be admitted a 
member of the Association on the approval of the Executive Com- 
mittee, and on complying with the provisions of the first Article. 

Article XI. 

Honorary members may be admitted by a vote of the Associa- 
tion at any regular meeting. 

Article XII. 

The names of members who shall have neglected to pay their 
annual subscriptions for more than one year, or who do not com- 
ply with the provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws, shall be 
reported annually by the Treasurer, and shall be stricken from 
the list of members, or suspended, if the Association shall so 
direct by their vote. 

Article XIII. 

Any member who shall have paid the sum of fifty dollars in 
annual subscriptions or otherwise, shall be entitled, if in needful 
circumstances, in the opinion of the Executive Committee, to 
receive that amount from the Association, at such tunes and in 
such sums as the Executive Committee may direct ; and the like 
sum shall be paid, in like manner, to the widow or children of a 
deceased member who shall have paid in the sum of fifty dollars, 
if left in needful circumstances. 



LIST OF OFFICERS 

OF THE 

CAPE COD ASSOCIATION 

1852. 



PRESIDENT, 

DAVID SEARS. 



VICE PRESIDENTS, 



WILLIAM STURGIS, 
LEMUEL SHAW, 
DANIEL C. BACON, 
BENJAMIN BANGS, 
PRINCE HAWES, 
BENJAMIN BURGESS, 



BENJ. F. HALLETT, 
JOSHUA SEARS, 
FRANCIS BASSETT, 
ROBERT BACON, 
THOMAS THACHER, 
S. K. LOTHROP. 



JOHN G. PALFREY. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, 



ISRAEL LOMBARD, 
HENRY CROCKER, 



HENRY C. BROOKS, 
ISAIAH M. ATKINS, Jr. 



TREASURER, 

ISAAC THACHER. 



CORRESPONDING SECRETARY, 

HENRY A. SCUDDER. 



RECORDING SECRETARY, 

WILLIAM S. THACHER. 



LIFE MEMBERS. 



Bacon, Daniel C. 
Bacon, Francis 
Bacon, Robert 
Baker, Ezra H. 
Baker, Richard, Jr. 
Bassett, Francis 
Bonrnc, E. A. 
Brooks, Henry C. 
Crowell, Nathan 
Davis, Barnabas 
Davis, James 
Hallet, G. W. 
Homer, Fitzhenry 
Howes, Osborn 



Howes, Willis 
Lombard, D. B. 
Lombard, Israel 
Nickcrson, Frederic 
Nickerson, Joseph 
Rich, Isaac 
Sears, David 
Sears, Paul, Jr. 
Shaw, Lemuel 
Sturgis, William 
Thacher, Barna. 
Thacher, Isaac 
Thacher, William S. 



MEMBERS 



Atkins, 


Elisha 








Atkins 


Ephraim 








Atkins, 


Henry 








Atkins 


Isaiah 








Atkins 


Isaiah Malcolm, J 


r. 






Atkins 


I. M. . 








Atwood, Hawes 








Bacon, 


Daniel C. . 








Bacon, 


Eben . 








Bacon, 


Francis 








Bacon, 


George 








Bacon, 


John H. 








Bacon, 


Robert 








Bacon, 


Thomas C. 








Bacon, 


William B. . 








Baker, 


Albert . 









Truro. 



Wellfleet. 



Barnstable. 



Dennis. 



10 



Baker, Ezra H. 
Baker, John W. 
Baker, Joshua 
Baker, Judah . 
Baker, Richard 
Baker, Richard, jr. 
Bangs, Benjamin 
Bangs, Elkanah 
Bangs, George P. 
Bangs, Isaiah 
Bangs, William A. 
Bangs, William H. 
Bassett, Francis 
Beal, Alexander 
Bearse, Owen 
Bourne, E. A. 
Brooks, Henry C. 
Burgess. Benjamin 
Burgess, B. F. 

Chase, Erastus 
Chase, Luther S. 
Chase, Nathan 
Chessman, D. F. 
Chessman, W. H. 
Chipman, Walter 
Clark, Alvan . 
Clark, Lot 
Clark, Thacher, Jr. 
Cobb, Elijah . 
Cobb, E. Winslow 
Cobb, Matthew 
Collins, James H. 
Collins, Joshua C. 
Congdon, James Bunker 
Crocker, Henry- 
Crocker, Henry H. 
* Crocker, Roland R. 
Crocker, Uriel 
Crocker, William A. 
Crosby, E. C. 
Crowell, Henry G. 
Crowell, Nathan 
Crowell, Nathan, Jr., 



Dennis. 
Barnstable. 

Dennis. 
Truro. 

Brewster. 



Harwich. 
Brewster. 

a 

Dennis. 

Barnstable. 

a 

Sandwich. 

Harwich. 

Sandwich. 



Harwich. 

a 

Dennis. 
Barnstable. 



Harwich. 
Breioster. 
Dennis. 
BreiDster. 

Ba?'7isiable. 
Easthain. 

a 

Falmouth. 
Barnstable. 

Falmouth. 

Bartistable. 

II 

Brewster. 
Yarmouth. 

a 

Dennis. 



* Pierl suddenly, at New Bedford, Jan. 12, 1852, aged 82 years. 



11 



Crowcll, Philander . 
Crowell, Scth K. . 
CroAvcll, Timothy . 

Davis, Adolphus 
Davis, Barnabas 
Davis, CJiarles Henry 
Davis, Ebenezer 
Davis, George T. . 
Davis, James . 
Davis, James W. 
Davis, John W. 
Davis, Joseph A. 
Davis, S. G. . 
Dimmock, John L. 
Doane, John, jr., 

Easterbrook, William 
Eldridge, Oliver 
Eldridge, Samuel . 
Ellis, Abner . 
Ewer, Charles 

Fessenden, Sewell H. 
Freeman, Watson . 
Freeman, William . 
Freeman, William F. 

Gibbs, Alexander . 
Gibbs, Joshua, 3d, . 
Gibbs, Nathan B. 
Goodspeed, Levi L. 
Gray, Thomas 
Gray, Thomas W. 
Gross, Isaac S. 
Gross, Jaazaniah 

Hall, James 
Hall, William C. . 
Hallett, B. F. 
Hallet, G. W. 
Hallett, Henry L, . 
Hamblen, David 
Hamlen, Nathaniel 
Harding, Nathaniel 



Yarmouth. 



Barnstable. 



Truro. 
Barnstable. 



Orleans. 

Barnstable. 
Yarmouth. 

Sandwich. 
Barnstable. 

Sandwich. 

(( 

Brewster. 
(( 

Sandwich. 



Sandioich. 
Barnstable. 

Truro. 



Barnstable. 

Dennis. 

Barnstable. 

Yarmouth. 

Barnstable. 

Wclljlcct. 

Eastham. 

Truro. 



12 



Hardy, Alpheus 
Hatch, A. D. 
HaweSj Charles H. 
Hawes, J. P. . 
Hawes, Prince 
Higgins, John S. . 
Hinckley, Benjamin 
Hinckley, David 
Hinckley, William 
Holbrook, Henry A. 
Holbrook, Joseph . 
Homer, Fitzhenry . 
Hopkins, Franklin . 
Howes, Barzillai 
Howes, Osborn 
Howes, Willis 
Huckins, Francis . 
Huckins, James W. 

Jenkins, James 
Jones, Eliphalet 

Knowles, Thomas 
Krogman, Samuel B. 

Lewis, Nathan 
Lewis, Simeon H. 
Lincoln, Henry 
Lincoln, William 
Lombard, D. B. 
Lombard, Israel 
Lombard, Israel, Jr. 
Lombard, Thomas 
Loring, Charles 
Loring, Elisha T. 
Lothrop, Samuel K 
Lovejoy. Loyal 

Matthews, Nathan 
Mayo, Charles 
Munroe, James 
Myrick, James H. 

Newcomb, Warren 
Nickerson, Eben 



Chalham, 
Falmouth. 
Yarmouth. 



Wellfieet. 

Tf^uro. 

Barnstable. 

Dennis. 

Wellfieet. 

Yarmouth, 

Brewster. 

Dennis. 



Barnstable. 



Falmouth. 
Sandwich. 

Eastham. 



Barnstable. 

u 

Falmouth. 

Truro. 

ii 

i( 

u 
Barnstable. 



Yarmouth. 
Brewster. 
Barnstable. 
Brewster. 

Truro. 
Provincetown. 



13 



Nickersoii, Edward G. 
Nickerson, Frederic 
Nickerson, F. A. 
Nickerson, J. S. 
Nickerson, Joseph . 
Nickerson, Pliny 
Nickerson, Thomas 

Otis, William Foster 



Palfrey, John G. 
Parker, Isaac H. 
Parker, Ward M. 
Percival, John 
Perry, M. S. . 
Pope, John 
Pope, Lemuel E. 
Pope, Thomas B. 

Reed, Edward 
Reed, John, Jr. 
Rich, Isaac 
Rich, Sylvanus 
Ryder, Elisha H. 
Ryder, George G. 

Scudder, Alexander 
Sciidder, H, A. 
Scudder, Harvey 
Scudder, P. W. 
Sears, David . 
Sears, Joshua . 
Sears, Nathan F. 
Sears, Paul, Jr. 
Sears, Phillip H. 
Sears, Willard 
Shaw, Joseph P. 
Shaw, Lemuel 
Shurtleff, Nath'l B, 
Simpkins, S. G. 
Smith, Daniel C. 
Smith, Henry 
Smith, .John T. 
Smith, Joseph 
Smith, Oliver 



Provincetown. 
Brewster. 



Harwich. 
Brewster. 

Barnstable. 



Falmouth. 

it 

Barnstable. 

Brewster. 

Sandwich. 



Yarmouth. 

u 

Welljleet. 

n 

Chatham. 

u 

Barnstable. 



Chatham. 

Yarmouth. 

Brewster. 

Dennis. 

a 

Yarm,outh. 

Eastham. 

Barnstable. 

Brewster. 

Welljleet. 

Barnstable. 

Breivster. 

Welljleet. 

Eastham. 



14 



Smith, Stephen 


Barnstable. 


Snow, Franklin .... 


Orleans. 


Stevens, Levi F 


Truro. 


Sturgis, William .... 


Barnstable. 


Swett, Samuel . . . . 


C( 


Thacher, Barna 


Yarmouth. 


Thacher, Charles A. . . . 


(( 


Thacher, Edward .... 


(I 


Thacher, George C. . . . 


u 


Thacher, H. C 


(( 


Thacher, Isaac, .... 


(C 


Thacher, Matthew 


(( 


Thacher, Thomas .... 


li 


Thacher, Thomas .... 


(( 


Thacher, William S. . 


il 


Tobey, Seth 


Dennis. 


Waterman, Foster .... 


Barnstable. 


Wells, Francis .... 


Truro. 


Wood, Charles L 


Falmouth. 


Wood, James B 


a 


Williams, Joseph Otis 


Barnstable. 


Williams, Robert B. . . . 


Sandwich. 


Winslow, Elisha D. . . . 


Brewster. 


Winslow, Roland .... 


K 



15 



The First Anniversary of the Cape Cod Association was 
held at Assembly Hall, in Boston, on the evening of Novem- 
ber 11th, 1S51. 

The Hall had been decorated for the occasion, under the 
direction of the Committee of Arrangements. The flags of 
every nation were judiciously arranged as drapery, and a 
large number of colors were kindly furnished for the occasion 
by Commodore Downes, from the Navy Yard at Charlestown. 

Over the entrance, inside the hall, and extending along the 
whole of that end of the room, was a beautifully painted in- 
scription of the name of the Association, from the centre of 
which, wreaths of blue and red drapery converged, and sur- 
rounded the upper part of the walls of the room. 

On each side of the entrance were these mottoes : 

On the left— 

'■ Breathes there the man with soul so dead, 

Wlio never to liimself has said, 
This is my own, my native land." 

On the right — 

" No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries. No climate that 
is not witness to their toils. Neither the perseverance of Hol- 
land, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm 
sagacity of Enghsh enterprizc, ever carried this most perilous 
mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been 
pushed by this hardy people." — Speech of Edmund Burke, 
March 22, 1775. 

At the farther extremity of the Hall was suspended a large 
map of the Cape, beautifully painted for this occasion, with the 
May-Flower represented upon its surface as lying at anchor 
in Provincetown Harbor ; and a copy of the following com- 
pact : 

Social Compact of our Pilgrim Fathers, sif/ncd on hoard thr 
Mayflower, in Cape Cod Harhor, 11 Nov., 1G20. 

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are vnderwrit- 
ten, the loyall subjects of onr dread Sovereign Lord, Kixr. 



16 



James, by the Grace of God of Great Brltaine, France and re- 
land, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. 

Having vnder taken, for the glory of God, and advancement of 
the Christian Faith, and honor of our King and Countrey, a 
voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern parts of Virginia, 
doe, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the name of God 
and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into 
a civill body poll tike, for our better ordering and preservation and 
furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and by vertue hereof to enact, 
constitute, and frame such juste and equall Lawes, ordinances, 
acts, constitutions, offices, from time to time, as shall be thought 
most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony : 
unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In wit- 
ness whereof we herevnder subscribed our names. Cape Cod, 11 
of November, in the yeare of the raigne of our Sovereigne Lord, 
King James of England, France and Ireland, 18, and of Scot- 
land 54. Anno Domini, 1620. 



John Carver, 
William Bradford, 
Edward Winslow, 
William Brewster, 
Isaac Allerton, 
Miles Standish, 
John Alden, 
Samuel Fuller, 
Moses Fletcher, 
Gilbert Winslow, 
Edward Tilley, 
John Ridgdale, 
John Turner, 
James Chilton, 
John Goodman, 
Thomas Wilhams, 
Peter Brown, 
George Soule, 
Richard Gardiner, 
Thomas English, 
Edward Leister, 



Stephen Hopkins, 
John Howland, 
William White, 
Richard Warren, 
Francis Cook, 
Thomas Rogers, 
Thomas Tinker, 
John Billington, 
Christopher Martin, 
William Mullins, 
John Tilley, 
Edward Fuller, 
Francis Eaton, 
John Crackston, 
Degory Priest, 
Edmund Murgeson, 
Richard Britterige, 
Pvichard Clarke, 
.John Allerton, 
Edward Dorey. 



Along the side of the room were collected many articles of 
rare and curious interest, sent forward on this occasion by 
their respective proprietors for the inspection of the assem- 
bled company, which attracted the attention and admiration 
of all. Among these articles was the celebrated Brewster 
Chest, a detailed account of which was given by the venera- 



17 

ble Rev, Dr. Robbins, of Hartford, in whose possession it now 
remains. A cradle, now belonging to Peter Thacher, Esq., 
of Yarmouth, of most elaborate and solid workmanship — 
made of the most durable materials, and with the aid of 
no instrument but a simple jack-knife — was inherited from 
Anthony Thacher, whose memorable shipwreck is so univer- 
sally known. A blanket accompanied the cradle, in which 
Peregrine White, the first born of Cape Cod, was wrapped. 
A piece of the pear tree planted by Governor Prence, on his 
estate at Eastham, was also exhibited. 

The Chair was canopied with American and English 
ensigns, and from the front was suspended a cod fish. 
Behind, the model of the beautiful ship Game Cock was 
placed — above which were hung original portraits of James 
Otis and his wife. 

Placed between the windows, occupying the entire panels 
of the room, were the portraits of distinguished natives of 
Cape Cod — among which were those of Samuel Allyne Otis, 
Rev. John Simpkins and wife, Elder Samuel Prence, Mercy, 
daughter of Gov. Hinckley, Mrs. Mary Gray, Dr. Savage and 
his wife, Mrs. Shaw, Rev. Dr. Freeman, William Henry Sav- 
age, Mercy, wife of Sylvanus Bourne, Solicitor General Da- 
vis, Judge Daniel Davis, Capt. John Crocker, Judge Thacher, 
Charles Hallett and his wife, Capt. John Eldridge, Jonathan 
Hallett, David Crocker, Benjamin Hallett, Elisha Doane, 
George Hallett, Gen. Elijah Cobb, John Gray, Abner Davis, 
Thomas W. Sears, Benjamin Rich, George Thacher and 
Lemuel Pope. 

The tables were arranged with great taste and judgment, 
for the accommodation of a thousand persons — and the bril- 
liant display of flowers throughout their whole extent added 
much to the splendor of the scene. 

At five o'clock, the President of the Association, with the 
Invited Guests, were introduced into the hall by the Com- 
mittee of Reception, and took their scats on an elevated plat- 
form at the side of the room. The members of the Associa- 
tion, with the ladies accompanying them, who numbered 
jionrlv one-half of the Assembly, then entered, imder direc- 



18 

tion of the efficient marshals, and took their seats amid the 
music of Flagg's Brass Band. 

A brief and very eloquent appeal to Heaven was made by 
Rev. Dr. Smalley, of Worcester ; and the regard of the com- 
pany was then given to the collation provided by J. B. Smith, 
which gave thorough satisfaction to all. 

After a short interval occupied in satisfying the appetite, 
the attention of the Assembly was requested by the President, 
who said — 

Gentlemen and Members of the Cape Cod Association; 

We are assembled here to-day to celebrate the First Anni- 
versary of our Institution. 

It is pleasant to look around us and see so many of the 
wise, the distinguished, and the honored among our citizens, 
who claim to be native born, or can trace their origin to good 
old Cape Cod of Massachusetts Bay. 

It is pleasant too, on this occasion, to have the presence 
and encouragement of the fair daughters of those heroic 
mothers who shared with our fathers in their trials, privations 
and dangers. 

It is indeed a goodly gathering of the Pilgrim Cape. Our 
Association was instituted on the 12th of May last, and the 
11th of November selected for our anniversary, in honor of a 
day of solemn and impressive character, and well worthy of 
record — tJie day of the adoption of the first written constitu- 
tion among men, decreed and signed on board the Mayflower, 
in the harbor of Provincetown, in 1620. 

It is not necessary that I should here trouble you with the 
reading of our Constitution. I presume you are all acquaint- 
ed with it. But I will call your attention to one of its prin- 
cipal features — the charity fund — founded on liberal principles 
and placed under the control of the officers of the Associa- 
tion. If carried out, as it may be, in an effective manner, it 
will redound to the honor of its patrons, and be of extensive 
usefulness. 

The object of the Association, as you find it recorded in 
the certificates of membership, is " To encourage and pro- 



19 

mote among all the native born, and descended of Cape Cod, 
temperance, industry, sincerity, good humor, charity, the 
social affections, and generous sentiments," and to teach its 
members who their ancestors were, in order that they may 
emulate what their ancestors did. For admission, no relig- 
ious test is required, no political creed demanded, but every 
one will take his brother by the hand and give him a cordial 
welcome. 

It is not the intention of your President to enter upon 
these topics. They will be fully and ably discussed in the 
course of the evening by others better prepared than he is to 
do them justice. The office to which you have chosen him, 
and for the honor of which he begs you to accept his ac- 
knowledgments, takes from him all personal identity, and 
makes him emphatically — The Chair — to which others must 
address themselves, but from which nothing is asked in re- 
turn — neither a toast expected, nor a speech solicited. 

Gentlemen : This is a social meeting — our business was 
finished in the morning, and the evening is left for our pleas- 
ure. The arrangements are such that it is hoped every one 
may enjoy himself according to his inclination. An abun- 
dant supply for an intellectual feast is to be found among the 
distinguished gentlemen present, but no compulsory process 
will be used either to elicit a sentiment or to force a speech. 
They will be voluntary, — and yet I feel great confidence that 
there will be no want of free-will offerings on the altar of 
social enjoyment. 

I therefore, without further remark, resume the Chair, and 
proceed to the principal objects of our meeting, and for that 
purpose permit me to introduce to you — Henry A. Scudder — 
the Orator of the day. 



ORATION. 



Allow me through you, Mr. President, to tender my ac- 
knowledgments to the officers and members of the Cape 
Cod Association, for this honor which they have conferred 
upon me. I can but fear, Sir, — and fearing, I can but trem- 
ble, under a sense of the responsibility thus imposed. For 
your sakes, I regret that it should have fallen to my lot, to 
act as the minister of this occasion, to bear the sacred vessels 
in your presence, and to burn the incense of gratitude and 
love upon the altar of our common Home. 

No sentiment is more deeply and universally impressed 
upon the human heart than the love of home. No age and 
no condition is insensible to its delights. Neither lapse of 
time, nor intervening distance, can efface that impression. 
The cares of manhood, with all their attending circumstan- 
ces, do not so choke the affections, nor occupy the memory, 
that we can ever forget the land of our nativity, or fail to 
cherish the recollection of our earlier days. When fatigued 
with the labors and perplexities of the passing moment, how 
naturally do our wandering thoughts stray homeward, in 
search of that beloved spot where in joyous innocence we 
whiled away the morning of our life. In the hour of sad- 
ness, when the heart grows sick, and our spirits droop within 
us, then at times the imagery of home comes up before the 
fancy, like some charming vision before the dreamer's eye, — 
and we gaze upon it, and we pronounce it the fairest Elysium 
of all the past. 

It matters very little where our nativity may have been 



21 

cast. Whether we happen to have been nurtured in the 
midst of a wilderness of beauty, or upon some barren rock- 
bound coast,' — whether the city or the country, a torrid or a 
frigid zone, may have been our dwelling-place, — it is the same 
to us. The scenes of our childhood move before us in after 
years, in all the verdure and freshness and gaiety of spring ; 
making strong the heart of summer with its heat and toil, 
beguiling the cares and duties of autumnal life, and even 
cheering the winter of our declining age. The hovel of the 
poor man and the palace of the rich are equally enchanting. 
The philosopher muses over the picture with rapturous de- 
light, and the unlettered man looks back upon it with emo- 
tions which can find no utterance in words. 

There are peculiar associations connected with the earliest 
recollections of life. No castle was ever so magnificent as 
the house where we were born. No table groaning with 
abundance is half so bounteous now as that where we sat 
down in childhood. No times were ever so momentous as 
when we frolicked through the giddy hours, and fretted at 
our little cares, and laid our aching heads to rest. In all 
which partakes of the marvelous or grand, the experience of 
age must yield to the reveries of youth. It is natural that it 
should be so. "What we see," says Carlisle, "and yet can- 
not see over, is as good as infinite." Amid what scenes of 
wondrous sublimity, therefore, must that little gentleman 
have lived who measured perpendicularly but three feet, six ; 
and mentally and physically, in like proportion. How in- 
comprehensible was every thing in life ; and therefore, how 
immense. There is no imaginary grandeur at the present 
day, which can compare with the vast infinitude of that hour, 
when the household and the homestead were to our little 
hearts a glorious universe, — when the over-arching vault of 
Heaven seemed to shut down about us like a wall of safety, 
whose outer edge rested upon our father's acre-lots, — and 
when the sheep and the oxen, grazing upon those acres, were 
as the "cattle upon a thousand hills." 

There linger also about that hallowed spot associations of 
a more sacred character, which we never can forget ; and 



22 

would not, if we could. The paternal household and its 
beloved members, the domestic altar, the evening and the 
morning prayer, the family board, its blessings craved and 
thanks returned, the faces of that familiar group, a father's 
smile, a mother's tear, all are remembered with affection. We 
bear these images of the past along with us wherever we 
may go ; — like sacred household Penates we keep them ever 
enshrined within the heart. In fine, the whole embodiment 
of home, with all its joys and sorrows, with all its scenes of 
magnificence and beauty, such as our childhood realized, and 
such as memory frequently recalls, forms to the mind a pic- 
ture more like a dream than like any thing in real life. It 
came over us like a vision, — it vanished like a vision, and it 
is gone from us forever. 

How interesting was that transition, from infancy to youth, 
and from youth to manhood ; when our faculties began to 
enlarge, our sympathies to extend, and our expanding souls 
reached out beyond their former circle, to embrace a larger 
company of kindred and acquaintance ; when we discovered 
that there was something beyond the curtilage of home ; 
when the over-arching vault of Heaven, so limited before, 
became a moving canopy, and we its continually moving cen- 
tre ; when the surrounding neighborhood became the more 
extended theatre of our existence ; when the social affections 
began to be developed, and to our infant love was superadded 
the sentiment of friendship. Then how the cares of life 
began to multiply. How other scenes crept in between us 
and the former nucleus of our affections. By some alluring 
phantom, we know not what, we were tempted away from 
the paternal roof. We heard no longer those voices of the 
past, so dear to us ; and we began to be pilgrims of the 
future. The world lay all before us. Its manifold depart- 
ments were presented to our view. We made our choice ; 
some to abide at home, some to go down in ships upon the 
deep, and some to go out from among their kindred to so- 
journ in other lands. 

A portion of those voluntary exiles, who at various times 
have taken their departure from the shores of Cape Cod, are 



23 

gathered here to-day, in this home of their adoption, to man- 
ifest their regard for the home of their nativity. Drawn 
together by a common feeling of relationship, we have 
formed ourselves into an association, for the purpose of culti- 
vating the social virtues, commemorating the history of the 
past, and perpetuating among our members, so far as possible, 
those principles which have actuated and somewhat distin- 
guished the iniiabitants of the Cape. Aside from the advan- 
tages which may hereafter arise from such an association, we 
have reason to rejoice in its present formation. It is an event 
long since anticipated, and cordially desired, by many of our 
distinguished citizens who were descended from the Cape ; 
some of whom have labored to accomplish this result, but 
have died Avithout success. It is, moreover, a pious duty 
which we thus discharge, by uniting in this spirit of filial 
veneration. Considering the many tics of sympathy by 
which we are bound, not only to each other as individuals, 
but to the land of our common origin, — remembering the debt 
of gratitude we owe to her, for the lessons of honest frugality 
and persevering industry which she has taught, — how fitting 
it is that her children, and her children's children, should 
thus rise up and call her blessed. 

I have said that it matters very little where our nativity 
may have been cast. As to the vision of the absent child the 
image of home is always pleasing, so to the eye of afiectionate 
remembrance all scenes are lovely which come to us in her 
sacred name. From the midst of this beautiful Athens of 
New England, we now cast our eyes across those intervening 
waters to our native coast, and we love her sandy cliffs, we 
love her sterile plains, we feel a spirit of honest pride in ac- 
knowledging our birthplace. 

Why should it not be so? Is there no grandeur here? Be- 
hold her, where she lies, in her ocean bed, — that great " right 
arm" of this noble Commonwealth. Reaching out full twenty 
leagues beyond the main, she seems like an everlasting breast- 
work, thrown up by the Almighty hand as a protection to the 
future commerce of mankind. To the threatening clement 
without she sef^ns tn say. " thus far. — thus far shnlt thou 



24 

come, — but no farther;" while, to the treasures within her 
embrace, she seems also to say, " these are my jewels, — and 
who is he that shall snatch them from my hand ? " Is there no 
beauty in this portion of the Creator's handiwork ? Visit her 
noble seaboard. Let yom* eyes glance along her winding bor- 
ders. Look in upon her pleasant harbors. Examine her islands 
and her inlets. And then gaze upon the broad expanse of that 
billowy deep which rolls along her sea-coast, where the gram- 
pus and the leviathan tumble at their leisure through those 
dark blue waters, which have been their everlasting habitations. 

Although untempting in her general aspect, with her barren 
territory and her unproductive soil, Cape Cod is rich. She is 
rich in her maritime advantages ; she is rich in the vigor and 
enterprise of her sons ; she is rich in the fruits of their indus- 
try ; she is rich in the virtues of social and domestic life ; 
rich in ancestral honors ; rich in her local history. 

Oh for a tongue to tell the story of that primeval race, whose 
dark and disfigured visages were seen darting through those 
forests, and fleeing the approach of the pale-face pilgrim. 
Oh for a living sketch of the land of Pamet, Nauset, Skeeket, 
Mattacheeset, and Monomoiet, — the homes and the hunting 
grounds of those warriors and sachems, who had roamed for 
centuries along those shores, in all the freedom and simplicity 
of nature. But it is now, alas, too late for us to investigate 
those early times. No vestige now remains to mark the spot 
where the wild man wooed the dusky maid, or trapped his 
game, or mingled in the dance. History cannot aid us. The 
light of tradition fails us. " The dews of the morning are 
past, and we vainly try to continue the chase by the meridian 
splendor." 

Let us then go back to the begirming of time with us, as 
a Nation, — to that period when civilization first visited those 
shores. Let us moor our bark in the waters of Cape Cod 
harbor ; and, now, let us roll back the scroll of ages for a little 
more than two centuries, until we come to that November 
scene of 1620 — the first, and the greatest scene, in all New 
England history. The place is full of eloquent suggestions. 
How sacred is the prospect of sea and land before us ! What 



hallowed associations crowd upon the mind as we look upon 
those waters, where first the Mayflower cast her anchor ; 
those shores, where first the weary pilgrim's foot found rest ; 
that very earth, where the first New England prayer was offer- 
ed ; where the first New England mother brought forth her first 
New England child. If to those mute but venerable witness- 
es of that ancient period, if to those aged hills, a voice were 
given to relate the story of those days, — \vith what eagerness 
should we listen to the narrative. Before all other heroes on 
American soil, I should like to have seen that patriarchal band. 
Before all other incidents in American history, I should choose 
to have beheld those primitive assemblies where John Carver, 
and John Alden, and Brewster, and Bradford, sat down to- 
gether. Mingling with their pious thank-ofl"erings for the 
past, I should like to have heard those words of promise and 
of prophecy which fell from their inspired lips. 

Beleaguered and betrayed by the false styled civilization 
of their age ; oppressed, persecuted, pursued and driven out, 
by the tyranny of the old world ; turning their backs upon 
the fair outside of life, with all its pride and pomp and van- 
ity, — those strong-hearted adventurers came to seek a hum- 
bler resting-place, and to erect their standard in any land 
where they might enjoy those inward blessings of liberty 
and peace. When we reflect upon the toil and danger they 
had thus encountered, the suftering and privation they had en- 
dured ; when we consider how dark the future was to them ; 
when we look upon that band of exiles, travelling by the eye 
of faith — " heart within, and God o'erhead ;" when we see 
them upon that barren coast, with a savage wilderness be- 
fore them, and not one sign to comfort, not one single hope 
to cheer them, save that of one day realizing their dreams of 
civil and religious freedom, — we are amazed at their firmness 
and their perseverance ; and we regard them as heroes of an 
expedition, compared with which, the fabled journey of .Eneas 
and his Trojan followers to us seems insignificant and 
tame. 

Such was the beginning of the early local history of Cape 
Cod. Viewed in all its manifold relations, it surely stands 



26 

unrivalled among the annals of modern days. We do not 
here contest the palm with that old Colonial sister, who gave 
to those adventnrers a later and more permanent abiding 
place. We wonld not pluck a single jewel from her diadem 
of honor. Let each enjoy her own proportion of the praises 
due. It was enough for Cape Cod, that she gave the first 
harbor to those pilgrims of the Cross. It was enough, that 
she extended her timely aid to save that expedition from de- 
struction. It was enough that, from her basket and her 
store, she gave them all she had. If we surrender to our 
neighbors all the rest, still our native Cape must wear this 
crown of glory — that within her ancient borders began the 
history of the first permanent settlers in New England — that 
her's was the theatre where were enacted the most solemn 
and important political events v/hich the annals of America 
contain — if not the most remarkable in the civil history of 
mankind. It was there that our political existence seems 
to have commenced. It was there that the first Chief Magis- 
trate was elected and installed. It was there that the first 
corner-stone of our Government was laid, and the basis of 
our Republic was established. It was there that, " in the 
name of God, and for the general good," the " first written 
constitution of popular government among men was drawn 
up and signed by the people, assembled in convention for 
that purpose." From that place, and on that day. Liberty 
and Religion began anew their pilgrimage among the na- 
tions. 

A little more than two hundred years have now elapsed, 
since the occurrence of those memorable events which gave 
such interest to the early local history of the Cape. What a 
scene of mutation has it been ! Nation has striven against 
nation ; the mighty have wrestled with the weak ; the wiser 
have overcome the simple. A powerful and heroic race have 
been blotted from existence. Their habitations have been 
given unto strangers, and the places which once knew them 
shall know them no more forever. A wondrous change has, 
indeed, come over the face of all New England. The hand 
of civilization has swept away all traces of that rude barba- 



27 

rinn age, and erected in their stead her monuments of indus- 
trj^ and art. During this intervening period Cape Cod, in 
common with the rest of New England, has performed her 
part in the work of human progress. Her career has always 
been fortunate, — in many cases, it has been eventfnl and im- 
portant. 

Politically considered, the transplanting of races, or the 
peopling of a continent with new colonies, must be viewed 
not only as the greatest, but as the most uncertain, of all the 
works of man. No period was ever so momentous to any 
country as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were to 
this. It was, indeed, the great seed-time of nations ; and, as 
such, was fearfully pregnant with the destinies of all the 
future. When the time was fully come, the tide of Euro- 
pean emigration naturally set toward this western world. A 
new theatre of action had been opened for adventurers of 
every kind who had the daring or the means to embrace the 
opportunity. Usually, it is the surplus and floating popula- 
tion of a country which is thrown off on such occasions, 
while the better and more substantial portion remain behind. 
Very few go out into strange lands in search of new homes, 
except such as are illy provided for at home, or such as have 
in fact no certain abiding-place which they can call by that 
endearing name. Now this drift-wood of society is by no 
means the proper material for the building of new states. 
The thread-bare soldier of fortune, and the mere adventurer 
for luck, are last of all the proper individuals with M'hom 
new colonies should be peopled. The chance, therefore, in 
this new world, of a permanent and successful settlement, 
with a healthy and thriving population, was at best uncer- 
tain. It proved sadly so with most of those earlier adven- 
turers who came to these western shores — those, among 
others, who enlisted under the patronage of the heroic Sir 
Walter Raleigh. 

With New England, however, the case was very dittcrent. 
Fortunately for her, circumstances had been at work for ages 
in creating the proper material for her future population. 
The Reformation of Luther had awakened in the bosom of all 



28 

Europe a feeling of discontent, which had been suppressed 
for seven centuries at least. The spirit of insubordination 
manifested by Henry YIIL, in throwing off the yoke of the 
Roman Church and disowning her supremacy, had banished 
from the common English mind that superstitious reverence 
for the authority or infallibility of earthly institutions, which 
had hung so long like an incubus upon them. They had 
now seen what was once to them the most sacred and vener- 
able of all, cast down and trampled in the dust, merely to 
subserve the temporary convenience of an amorous and fickle 
hearted monarch ; and they were encouraged, thereby, not 
only to inquire into sacred matters for themselves, but also to 
respect and even vindicate the authority of their own privat3 
judgment. A state of independence both of heart and mind 
was thus begotten, or if not begotten, certainly promoted, 
which the succeeding policy of the Tudors and the Stuarts 
was by no means calculated to subdue, nor even to conciliate. 
The English Church came to them with most of the unwel- 
come forms, but without the presence and authority of the 
Holy See. Jealous as she was of her asserted prerogatives, 
determined as she was to have them respected and obeyed, the 
people feared her less, and they loved her no better. There 
was no distinction of classes or conditions in the contest 
which naturally arose. The best mind in England was en- 
listed on either side of the controversy. Each had its able 
and distinguished leaders. It was the voice of law against 
the voice of conscience. It was the might of assumed au- 
thority against the might of an indomitable will. A dread- 
ful warfare was evidently at hand. The battle, in fact, had 
already commenced. Absolute submission on the one hand, 
or persecution to the death upon the other, were apparently 
the only terms presented. The former was impossible ; the 
latter was insupportable. A refuge was opened to the op- 
pressed in America. The Pilgrims had led the way to New 
England, and they followed in their footsteps. 

The result was that, while an asylum was here oifered 
for those whose principles had been thus tried in the furnace 
of persecution, our borders were peopled with the best possi- 



29 

ble material for a new permanent and prosperous colony. 
Every condition in life contributed its portion. Men of fortune 
and position — scholars, philosophers, civilians, and divines — 
men of sterling excellence in all the industrial departments of 
life, flocked hither and scattered themselves along the shores 
of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. Surely a nobler ancestry 
cannot be traced upon American or European soil than that 
derived from the companions of such men as Carver, and 
Winthrop, and Brewster, and Williams. From these came 
the earlier settlers and inhabitants upon the Cape, bringing 
with them all which could give character and stability to 
any enterprise. Among them were the Burgesses, the 
Bourns, the Crockers, the Chases, the Halletts, the Hamblens, 
the Mayos, the Matthews, the Sturgisses, the Searses, and a 
host of others, whose venerable names are familiar among 
their children at the present day. They were men able to 
command the resources of the ocean, or to make the wilder- 
ness blossom like the rose, — men, whom no golden dreams 
had allured, and whom no ordinary reverses of fortune could 
overcome. In the hands of such builders and sires, most 
fortunately, were entrusted the destinies of our native land. 
From such a beginning, and under such guidance, none other 
than prosperous results could follow. 

The early colonial history of the Cape is unfortunately 
wrapped in much obscurity. The efforts of her annalists 
have failed to develop so much of her career as could have 
been desired. For twenty years after the arrival of the May- 
flower, little is known of her progress and condition. Her 
coast was undoubtedly inhabited, to some extent, by private 
adventurers during this interval. We have imperfect accounts 
of trading voyages between Plymouth and the Cape, during 
those dreadful days of pestilence and famine among the pil- 
grims, which indicate that her resources were well known and 
appreciated at a very early period. The population of the 
Cape, however, must have been very limited for a time, as w^e 
find that the entire Colony numbered only about three hundred 
souls at the expiration of ten years from its commencement. 

The local history of the Cape towns seems to have been 



30 

first publicly developed by a change in the form of the colo- 
nial government in. 1639, when Sandwich, Barnstable, and 
Yarmouth, began to send their deputies to the General Court 
at Plymouth. Eastham, in like manner, commenced her 
public career in 1647; and, from these four towns, the upper 
and lower portions of the Cape were afterwards principally 
settled. No kindred subject could interest us more than the 
industrial, social, religious, political and personal history of 
Cape Cod, during the entire colonial period. Could the veil 
of the past be so lifted as to disclose her various departments 
of life, exactly as they appeared in those early times, what a 
feast would it afford to the curious and inquiring mind. 

Respecting the industrial pursuits of our colonial fathers 
there is, indeed, but little room for debate. The soil of the 
Cape, poor as it now appears, was without doubt their earli- 
est dependence. If report be true, Cape Cod was then 
considered somewhat rich in her agricultural resources. As 
a market place, she seems in fact to have been to the Ply- 
motheans in their days of famine, what Egypt had been 
to the ancient Israelites ; for we learn that the Pilgrims fre- 
quently went down thither to buy corn ; and, so great was 
the fame of the region round about, that in 1643 the entire 
Church at Plymouth proposed to remove, with their cattle 
and their tents, to sojourn in the more fertile land of East- 
ham, upon the Cape. 

Tradesmen, as a distinct class, were very little encouraged 
in colonial times. A limited number, in each of the principal 
departments, generally sufficed for a single town. In those 
days of primitive simplicity, the division of labor was not so 
perfect as now. It was no uncommon thing for one man 
to follow as many callings as his genius would permit ; — 
each, so far as possible, providing for the wants of his own 
household. Their necessities were very limited ; and, when 
once supplied, they were generally supplied for life. The 
shoemaker, the tailor, and the hatter, were seldom patronized. 
A neighbor was recognized by the dress he wore, almost as 
readily as by the face which nature gave him. In handicraft, 
strength, instead of beauty, was the ijrand desideratum. 



31 

The probate inventories of their notable men indicate that 
the mechanic arts were not so courted and improved as in 
later days. 

Mercantile pursuits were little known, and very little re- 
spected by them. The whole matter was placed under the 
general supervision of the grand inquest, by a statute which 
enacted that no person should be allowed to purchase goods 
for the pm-pose of enhancing the price, except such as bought 
at wholesale to retail again at a reasonable gain. The miller 
and the weaver were content to exchange services or commod- 
ities with the farmer and the carpenter ; the cooper and the 
cobler, in like manner, kept their accounts with the blacksmith 
and the butcher. Such was the character of those little com- 
munities — such the frugality and industry, the honesty, sim- 
plicity, and brotherly kindness, prevailing therein — that they 
had need of nothing beyond the common village traffic, and 
those mutual accommodations existing among neighbors, who 
borrow and return, from day to day, and from hand to hand. 
The fisheries upon the Cape soon became the leading object 
of pursuit among those early settlers ; which drew to her 
shores a bold and enterprising class of men, who encoun- 
tered the hardships and perils of the deep. Such masters 
did our fathers become in this department, and so widely did 
their fame extend among the neighboring settlements, that, 
in 1C90, we find Ichabod Paddock going by special invita- 
tation, from Cape Cod to Nantucket, to instruct those island- 
ers in the best mode of catching and killing whales. Of 
the success which Ichabod had in teaching his pupils this 
heroic art, the world has no need to be informed. Suffice it 
here to say that similar lessons, which his companions taught 
at home, have neither been forgotten nor neglected by their 
children's children, even of the present generation upon the 
Cape. So prosperous and important did this occupation 
finally become, that the Great and General Court at Ply- 
mouth took occasion solemnly to acknowledge the provi- 
dence of God in thus making Ca})f Cod a '"commodious 
place for fishing:'' and, thereupon, proceeded to protect this 
branch of industry by throwing around it the stron-^ arm of 
the colonial law. Well might th<^y do this, — for, to the 



32 

everlasting credit of Cape Cod be it stated, her fisheries not 
only proved the greatest source of profit to the public, by 
affording the chief article of her exports, and thus enriching 
her citizens ; but they furnished the only public fund for the 
support of education, which the Colony possessed for the first 
half century of her existence ; as well as the principal reve- 
nue for the maintenance of public schools, during the whole 
period of the colonial history. A worthy emblem of those 
early times swims proudly, at the present day, in the upper air 
of our legislative ha,lls, as an ever constant monitor, by its 
presence, to remind the sovereign people of their earlier 
dependence ; and to claim for those, whose industry it con- 
tinues to represent, the encouragement and protection of 
their laws. 

Let us now turn our eyes from this department of labor to 
the sphere of social life. How intensely interesting would 
it be to read the social history of those early days, to follow 
our fathers along the common walks of life, and observe 
them in all their private intercourse. I should like to behold 
a portrait of those times, before the face and features of soci- 
ety had been so moulded and painted by the hand of art. 
I should like to have witnessed the rigid simplicity which 
characterized the manners and conversation of those early 
pioneers. Who would not like to have been for once seated 
as a welcome trencherman with the household of goodman 
Higgins, or of goodwife Brooks, around the family board ; 
and to have partaken with them of their bean-porridge and 
indian-pudding, the plain but wholesome fare of 1650. I 
would go a weary journey to grasp the brawny hand of those 
stern old heroes, in their homespun trowsers, high-topped 
boots, duffel jerkin, and flannel shirts, — with their long 
beards, solemn faces, and severity of features, in v/hich might 
be read the entire contents of the holy decalogue. It would 
seem, no doubt, a strange transition to those of us who are 
accustomed to the gaiety and fashion of the present day ; 
stranger yet to reflect that such was Cape Cod two hundred 
years ago ; and that these were our fathers and our mothers 
of the olden time. 



83 

The general tone of character pervading those primitive 
communities can now be ascertained only from the records 
of their public acts. Such is the nearest approximation his- 
tory affords. The laws of a Commonwealth, however, are 
not unfrequently a fair index to the moral and social condition 
of its citizens. In all republican communities the civil is built 
upon the social state and must, therefore, partake somewhat 
of its general character. 

In looking over the legislative records of those early times, 
it is pleasing to observe with what solemnity they regarded 
the manifold duties of life ; how careful they were of the do- 
mestic relations ; how faithful they were to their parental and 
filial obligations. Obedience on the one hand, and wholesome 
education upon the other, were equally enforced by law. 
Fathers were made accountable, to a reasonable extent, for the 
training, character, and deportment of their offspring. They 
were required to instruct their children in some honest and 
useful calling, lest they should prove " pests instead of bless- 
ings to the country." Wilful negligence in this respect was 
visited with the penalties of the statute. Schools were en- 
couraged as being of " singular use and benefit to any Com- 
monwealth." The standard of education among the common 
classes corresponded with the spirit and simplicity of the times. 
Children were required by law to be taught " duely to read 
the Scriptures ; the knowledge of the capital laws : and the 
main principals of religion, necessary to salvation." The lat- 
ter clause of this injunction was to be fulfilled, according to 
the letter of the statute, " by learning some short orthodox 
catechism without book." 

We can but respect the purity of social sentiment indicated 
in that community where idleness was punished as an unholy 
vice, and Avhcrc wilful ignorance was considered an offence 
"against the safety and dignity of the Commonweal;" 
where every man's reputation was so inviolably sacred, that 
even the talebearer became a villain in the public eye, and 
as such was amenable to the penalties of the law ; where the 
liar, the drunkard, the sabbath-breaker, and the profane, 
were resarded as outcasts, — fit only to be whipped, or 



34 

branded, or imprisoned, or punished in the public stocks ; 
where the traitor, the blasphemer, and the idolater, were not 
accounted worthy to exist. 

We are not surprised at the apparent attachment, existing 
in such communities, to the circles of private life. Their cup 
of happiness and contentment seems to have been full. So 
little were the dignities of State coveted by them, so sacred 
were the pleasures of retirement compared therewith, that it 
was found actually necessary to impose a penalty upon any 
man who, being elected to any public office, should decline 
the honors of the appointment. Even the honors of the Chief 
Magistracy were found insufficient to tempt them from those 
scenes of social happiness, without the additional incentive 
of a heavy fine. — The letter of that truly excellent man. Gen- 
eral James Cudworth, when appointed by Governor Winslow 
as commander of the expedition against the Dutch, presents 
a noble picture of the simplicity of those days, and of self- 
sacrificing fidelity to the cares and duties of private life. The 
office was one of great distinction, and it was tempting, no 
doubt, to an ambitious mind. But he excuses himself by ur- 
ging, among other considerations, the afflicted and unsettled 
condition of his household aflairs. He states that Mistress 
Cudworth is "so feeble she cannot lie, for want of breath ; and 
when up, she cannot light a pipe of tobacco, but it must be 
lighted for her ;" and, finally, he concludes by saying, that 
he does not " understand a man is so called to serve his coun- 
try, with the inevitable ruin and destruction of his family." 

Fortunate and happy, however, as may have been the gen- 
eral condition of the Colony in those times, very much, if not 
all, depended upon another cause which lay deeper and 
nearer the heart. I mean the religious character of our 
fathers. Among the earliest settlers upon the Cape, the 
moving and leading object was freedom to worship God. 
They came under able and devoted teachers who had assisted 
in planting their destinies, as they hoped, upon the rock of 
ages. Religion, among them, was a safeguard to the citizen, 
and a bulwark to the State. So long as her injunctions were 
obeyed, so long prosperity and peace dwelt within their borders. 



35 

It is enough for their sincerity and zeal to say, that they were 
of the puritanic school and faith. For nearly half a century 
they pursued the career of a peaceful, quiet and godly people. 
The testimony of the magistrates at Leyden they had not 
abused. Their devotion to the precepts and examples of their 
Master never had been questioned. We regret that anything 
should have happened to impede their progress, or that any 
circumstance should have arisen so severely to test their wis- 
dom and forbearance. 

It seems almost impossible to banish from the mind a spirit 
of extravagance while dwelling upon the religious character 
of our ancestors. We glory in their fortitude. We honor 
them for their untiring perseverance. We hold them in ven- 
eration for the spotless purity of those principles which they 
espoused. Yet, at times, our sympathy is shaken, and our 
charity impaired. We are pained to observe, in the history 
of those very martyrs, what, at first view, seems to resemble 
the spirit of tyranny and persecution. Our emotions are con- 
flicting. We admire, and yet we pity ; we praise, and yet 
reprove ; we love, and yet condemn. 

The fact is, we are apt to look upon those pilgrim fathers 
in a fictitious light. We do injustice both to their virtues and 
their failings. The error lies on each extreme. We give them 
more, and we grant them less, than they really deserve. In 
our fondness we incline to regard them as the great apostles 
of religious liberty, while in fact they were but noble champi- 
ons of a creed. It is true that, in their day, they were the party 
of progress, — but that progress was guided by a wholesome 
conservatism. Our fathers were not the advocates of freedom 
in its largest and unlimited sense. They never professed so 
much, either by word or deed. So far as religion was con- 
cerned, they fought against the forms rather than the doctrines 
of the English Churcli. The puritan controversy in England 
shows that it was ecclesiastical rather than religious freedom 
for which they contended. Touching the grand doctrines of 
"original sin," of "faith, grace, predestination and election," 
the Anglican and the Puritan were well enough agreed. The 
teachings of Calvin and the teachings of the University were 
not vitally discordant. The Puritans eschewed all human 



36 

agency and control in matters of religion, and they seemed to 
have the authority, or at least the example, of the English 
Crown as well as the English Church for their position. No 
better exposition of the views and objects of our fathers can 
be furnished, than is contained in the preamble to their gen- 
eral laws, adopted by the General Court at Plymouth, wherein 
it is solemnly avowed, " that the great and known end of the 
first comers in 1620 was, that without offence, they might 
with the liberty of a good conscience, enjoy the pure Scriptu- 
ral Worship of God, without the mixture of Human Inven- 
tions and Impositions ; and that their children after them, 
might walk in the Holy Wayes of the Lord." 

At the risk and expense of almost every earthly considera- 
tion, they at length had formed themselves into such a com- 
munity. Thus far they had enjoyed those blessings so long 
and so dearly anticipated. Was it unreasonable that privileges, 
bought at such a price, should have been regarded by them as 
sacred and inviolable, — at least within the precincts of their 
little neighborhood ? Was it strange that they should have 
guarded^with a jealous eye any invasion of those privileges, 
or any attempt to molest them in the quiet cultivation and 
enjoyment thereof? 

The religious difficulties which the Colonists encountered 
were, indeed, painful and unfortunate to all who were con- 
cerned therein. The advent of the Quakers was an unlucky 
incident, at an unlucky hom-. We cannot help deploring that 
event ; we regret the consequences which ensued. Our sym- 
pathies are naturally excited for the weaker party, and yet 
our better judgment forbids a hasty condemnation of the 
stronger. There is great danger of attributing to a spirit of 
persecution, what originated in nothing beyond a reasonable 
desire for self-preservation. 

Consider, for one moment, the trials which our fathers 
were called to endure, and the apparent sacrifice which was 
before them. Consider the character and temper of the 
Quakers at that early period. We can form but an imper- 
fect idea of them now at best, — it is the more impossible, be- 
cause of the elevated and enviable position occupied by 



37 

their successors at the i)resent day. As a class, however, 
there exists but little doubt that they were headstrong and 
over zealous. As with most new sects, they were agitators 
first, and reformers afterward. Many of them, in their de- 
meanor, it is said, were " audacious and provoking beyond 
endurance." In their religious pretensions they were 
seemingly blasphemous. They invaded the quiet of the 
sanctuary, and set at naught the doctrines of its teachers. 
Their spirit savored of high treason to the State. They de- 
fied and trampled upon its laws. The oaths of allegiance, 
and the duties of free men, they spurned. The immediate 
tendencies of their career were to civil commotion and reli- 
gious discontent. Upon a soil, already too well prepared, 
they scattered the seeds of desolation far and wide. And 
yet, claiming to enjoy rights denied to all good citizens, 
they demanded to be tolerated and protected in their de- 
structive course. — Consider, again, that the (Quakers were, 
for the most part, strangers and intruders, — not citizens nor 
permanent sojourners among them. They professed no love 
or sympathy for those whom they bitterly abused. They 
promised no apparent good in exchange for the evils which 
they were indicting. — To all this, add still another considera- 
tion. Our fathers had, for some time, been pained and even 
alarmed at the spiritual degeneracy of many among their 
professed brethren. A feeling of religious indifierence had 
begun to manifest itself. Their assemblies were poorly 
attended. Their ministers were miserably supported. The 
ordinances of religion had fallen into neglect. Dissentions 
among the sister churches had of late arisen. Many of them 
were even without a teacher. The power of the law had 
recently been invoked to enforce those duties which Christi- 
anity enjoined. — In the midst of all these existing troubles, 
at this most unfortunate crisis, came such men as Humphrey 
Norton and John House, teaching strange and disorganizing 
doctrines. 

Upon our fathers depended the solemn issue. With them 
alone rested the preservation of the Church and State. 
They could invoke no foreign aid. They could not, like 
the rntholics of Maryland, recline upon the bosom of thf^'r 



38 

Holy Mother, and, in case of need, call down the dreadful 
thunders of the Vatican upon the heads of their offenders. 
Least of all were the Puritans sustained by the sympathies 
of the English Church. Those who are strong may well 
afford to be generous, but our fathers were weak. In num- 
bers they were limited. Their footsteps were scarcely as yet 
established. They were literally hemned in by destruction. 
Death lurked in ambush all about them. They were em- 
phatically the Church militant on earth, in a martial as well 
as spiritual sense. As soldiers of the Cross, they were 
obliged to go up to the quiet sanctuary of the Lord with 
their muskets upon their shoulders. There was no earthly 
power on which they could rely ; — there was no assistance 
nearer than Heaven ; — they had no protection, — but in the 
name of God. 

What was to be done ? Life or death, salvation or 
destruction, was apparently before them. Should they not en- 
deavor to defend what they supposed to be the truth ? 
Should they surrender what they regarded as their hard- 
earned, precious, and exclusive privileges ? Should they 
allow their religion to become a bye-word, and their statutes 
an empty proverb ? Was it for this that, as a people, they 
had suffered the tortures of the prison and the stake ? Was 
it for this that they had sacrificed the endearments of home ? 
Was it for this that they had encountered the perils of the 
deep, and trusted to the fortunes of a savage wilderness ? 
Were those ties now to be broken, by which their souls had 
been knit together, like the souls of Jonathan and David ? 
Was that sympathy to cease, by which they had thus far 
been strengthened and supported ? Was that union at 
length to be severed, upon which they rested their hopes of 
a successful issue ? 

It was indeed an hour of anxiety and peril. They 
did not wish for contention. They had buried themselves 
in a wilderness for the very purpose of avoiding strife. 
They wanted rest, and they chose to seek it under the 
peaceful banner of the Cross. But the moment they sub- 
mitted, there seemed to be an end to all their hopes. If 



39 

they yielded their authority, tliat moment they were scat- 
tered to the winds. Their labors and their sufferings to 
them were all in vain, — they were like sheep without a shep- 
herd, — they were like children without a home. As Chris- 
tians, for the welfare of the Church, they had endeavored to 
persuade ; but they were too far divided in their sympathies. 
A righteous abhorrence existed between the two. There 
was " a spirit of fanaticism, approaching almost to frenzy, on 
the one hand ; and a pious zeal, allied (no doubt) to bigotry, 
upon the other." There was, therefore, no middle ground 
on which they could agree. 

Our fathers were thus driven to the only alternative re- 
maining. Considering, as well they might, that the land was 
theirs by right of occupancy, and also by the right of pur- 
chase at an awful price, they enacted and enforced what 
they regarded salutary laws. For the safety of the State, 
all good citizens were forbidden to bring any Q,uaker within 
the limits of the Colony, or to encourage such as already 
were among them. Their doctrines were suppressed, as 
tending to corrupt the public mind. Their assemblies were 
prohibited, as dangerous to the Commonwealth. By their 
own acts of disobedience, they were legally disfranchised. 
Without the oath of allegiance to the King, and fidelity to 
the State, no man could lawfully remain within her borders, 
or enjoy the privileges of a worthy citizen. These require- 
ments they despised and treated with contempt. The con- 
sequences naturally followed. Timely notice was given 
them, either to obey the laws, or to depart the precincts. To 
those who promised such obedience, all penalties were remit- 
ted. To those who still refused, and were without the 
ability to depart, the necessary means were furnished from 
the public treasury. If this did not suflice to rid the Colony 
of their presence, it is difficult to say how they should have 
acted, excepting as they did. If the mode of punishment 
was severe, it was only in accordance with the spirit and 
seeming necessities of the age. Our feelings are easily en- 
listed, because the Uuakers suffered and transgressed under 
the garb of their religion. That which, under other names, 



40 

had seemed undoubted justice, appears to partake of persecu- 
tion here. It was a delicate and trying task which our 
ancestors performed. We cannot fathom the depth of their 
emotions. They certainly are entitled to our charities. 
They acted wisely in most things else ; they may have 
erred in this, as who might not ? It is hazardous to con- 
demn. '^ Man sees the deed alone, — God the circumstance ; 
judge not, that ye be not judged." 

Let us now proceed to consider the political condition of 
that period. In common with the entire Colony of Plymouth, 
the political history of Cape Cod is full of interest. We have 
already referred to the commencement of that history, in the 
harbor of Provincetown, on the eleventh of November, 1620. 
Never, for a single moment, during their whole career, did 
the Colonists forget that day. They dated their progress 
from it, as the very beginning of their civil existence. In 
their early legislation, they went back to that original com- 
pact, as to the Magna Charta of their liberties, and they 
endeavored to follow its spirit in all their subsequent delib- 
erations. At their first convention, called in 1636, for the 
purpose of revising the laws and constitution of the Planta- 
tion, according to an order of their Sovereign Lord, King 
Charles 1st, they adopted the following preamble, as a part 
of their declaration and bill of rights : — " Now being assem- 
bled, and having read the solemn binding combinacion, made 
at Cape Cod, the 11th Nov"" 1620, and finding that as free- 
born subjects we hither came, we think good that it be 
established for an act, that no law, or ordinance, be made or 
imposed, upon or by ourselves or others, at present or to 
come, but such as shall be made or imposed by common 
consent." The great principles, contained in that immortal 
document, were thus publicly recognized and proclaimed, and 
the pillars of our Republicanism were planted upon their 
everlasting foundations. It was then that our fathers, kneel- 
ing before that shrine which had been erected by them 
sixteen years previous, in the cabin of the Mayflower, in the 
harbor of Cape Cod, again offered up their solemn vows, and 



41 

renewed their high commission, as the apostles of " freedom 
and equal rights." 

Tlie original form of the Colonial Government was simple 
in the extreme. The executive, legislative, and judicial func- 
tions thereof were gradually defined and perfected. For the 
first eighteen years of the colonial period the State was a pure 
democracy. The increase of population, however, and its 
diffusion over a wider territory, soon lead to the introduction 
of the representative system ; and, in 1639, each town sent its 
committee to the General Court at Plymouth. 

The qualifications of those entitled to the elective fran- 
chise were somewhat peculiar, — indicating the sacred light 
in which they viewed the welfare of the State, and the con- 
sequent importance attached to the office of a citizen. They 
must have attained to the age of twenty-one years. They 
must have taken the oath of fidelity to the Government. 
They were required to be freeholders ; to be men of good 
reputation among their neighbors ; men of sober and peacea- 
ble lives, and "orthodox in the fundamentals of Religion." 
To such men, the privileges of a citizen became a duty, the 
neglect or abuse of which was a penal offence. The oath 
of a freeman was taken " in the name of the Great God of 
Heaven." No liar, or drunkard, or libertine, or open reviler 
of the laws of God or his country, was accounted worthy to 
take upon himself that solemn obligation. 

The executive branch of the government consisted of a 
Governor and his Assistants, who held their office for the 
term of one year only. Previous to 1639, the Governor was 
chosen by the people at large ; after that period, he was 
elected by the General Court. Until 1624, the Governor had 
but one Assistant. At the special request of Governor 
Bradford, the number was then enlarged to five ; and sub- 
sequently, in 1633, the executive Chief Magistrate was 
surrounded by his seven Counsellors of State. The office of 
Deputy Governor was not specifically created until some 
years after the formation of the general government ; when 
it was ordained that, in case of the death of the Governor, 

6 



42 

or his sickness, or absence, or other disability, the next oldest 
Assistant should assume and perform his official duties. 

After the introduction of the representative system, in 1639, 
the Governor, his Assistants, and two Deputies from each 
town, constituted the Legislature. The laws enacted by 
them were simple and somewhat severe, in their general 
character ; but they were frequently revised, for amendment 
or repeal. The common law of England was of course the 
basis of the colonial common law ; but their penal enactments 
seem more nearly to have resembled the Mosaic code. Their 
statute provisions touching the rights of property, evince 
great wisdom, in many instances ; and plainly indicate that 
there were not wanting among our fathers, those who were 
deeply skilled in all the learning of Lord Coke and Sir Mat- 
thew Hale. 

Their judicial system also partook of the general sim- 
plicity of the times. It was specially ordained " that all 
tryalls, whether capitall, or between man and man, be tryed 
by Jewryes, according to the presidents of the law of Eng- 
land." There were three distinct tribunals generally known 
among them ; an Inferior Court of Selectmen, having juris- 
diction in all minor matters, — subject, however, to the right of 
appeal ; a Superior Court of Assistants, consisting of the 
Governor and his Council, who had original or appellate 
jurisdiction in "all capital, criminal and civil causes": and, 
lastly, the Supreme or General Court, consisting of the Gov- 
ernor, his Assistants, and the Deputies from the several 
towns, — who were not only, as legislators, the original 
source of all law, — but, as judges, the highest legal tribunal, 
in all matters where the Court of Assistants might " judge 
the case too great to be decided by them." 

These public officers of the State, whom I have men- 
tioned, occupied positions of dignity and responsibility in 
those days, such as are unknown to us ; and they were, ac- 
cordingly, held in the highest veneration by the common 
people. The Governor was not only the executive Chief 
Magistrate of the whole Colony,— but he was, ex officio, a 
Supreme Judge and a Legislator. The Assistants were not 
merely the Counsellors of the Governor, — but also Associate 



43 

Justices of the Supreme Bench, and members of the Legisla- 
ture. Their Deputies, or Representatives to the General 
Court, were not simply the Legislators of the land, — but, in 
their judicial capacity, they were frequently called upon to 
sit as members of the highest legal tribunal, and to discharge 
the solemn functions of that office. 

Among the most important political events of the colonial 
period, was the quadruple treaty of 1643, by which the New 
England Colonies entered into a league of amity, for purposes 
of mutual counsel and assistance on all public occasions. The 
articles of confederation established by them, indicate a degree 
of wisdom and statesmanship, little if any inferior to that 
manifested by the framers of our American Republic. The 
general principles of "National and State Rights" are there 
set forth and defined in a maimer very nearly resembling 
the form and character of our present federal compact. 
To the political history of the colonial period, however, we 
can farther devote but a passing remark. The entire career 
of our colonial fathers is full of general importance, but mat- 
ters of local interest seem more properly to demand our atten- 
tion at this time. We know, unfortunately, but very little 
about those struggles of political sentiment, and party feeling, 
which undoubtedly prevailed among the immediate inhabitants 
of the Cape in those days. Cape Cod had, in fact, no separate 
political existence until 1685 ; when her territory, embracing 
the four towns of Sandwich, Barnstable, Yarmouth, and 
Eastham, was set off into the present County of Barnstable. 
It is, however, gratifying to know that, whenever public exi- 
gencies required her aid, she was always ready and faithful 
to her public duties. During those sanguinary conflicts with 
the Indian tribes, her men and money were ever at the pub- 
lic service. In the war with King Philip, which spread such 
terror and distress among all the Colonists, Cape Cod fur- 
nished her trainbands and her gallant officers. It was, indeed, 
enough for those infant Colonists, if they could stand up un- 
der the pressing emergencies of the passing moment. In their 
imperfect, embryonic state, — while they were cutting their 
way back, foot by foot, into the wilderness, — while they were 



44 

obliged to provide for new and unforeseen events, continually 
arising among them, — while they were threatened, moreover, 
with momentary extermination, by a savage and relentless 
foe, — it is wonderful to behold how carefully they guarded 
the interests of the Commonwealth — how faithfully and ably 
they sustained those great principles of Republicanism em- 
bodied in her laws and constitution. 

The personal history of Cape Cod, during the colonial 
period, is alike interesting and honorable to us of the present 
generation. It is really curious to observe with what tenacity 
the inhabitants upon the Cape have continued to occupy their 
original locations. In reading over the names of those who 
were able to bear arms during the earliest years of her settle- 
ment, we are even surprised at their familiarity. We feel 
that we are dealing with the living, not the dead,— that we 
are in the very midst of our village acquaintances, — among 
our neighbors and relations of the present day. There are 
the Wings, and the Swifts, of Sandwich ; the Lewises, and 
the Bursleys, of Barnstable ; the Bangses, and the Thachers, 
of Yarmouth ; the Snows, and the Atkinses, of Eastham. 
The list of voters, at their last town-meetings, could not differ 
materially from those to which I have referred. 

Among the clergy of that day were men distinguished for 
their talents and acquirements. The Rev. John Lothrop, the 
first minister of Barnstable, was educated at Oxford, and was 
regarded in England as among the celebrated divines of his 
time. The Rev. Thomas Walley, and the Rev. Jonathan 
Russell, his successors, are both described as eminent and 
worthy men. The Rev. William Leveridge, and the Rev. 
Richard Bourne, of Sandwich, have left evidence of their 
piety and devotion. The Rev. John Miller, and the Rev. 
Thomas Thornton, of Yarmouth, — the Rev. John Mayo, and 
the Rev. Samuel Treat, of Eastham, are all mentioned as 
" able and faithful servants of the Lord." 

Among the distinguished civilians of the Cape, in colonial 
times, were Barnabas Lothrop, and Nathaniel Bacon, of Barns- 
table ,• John Thacher, of Yarmouth — son of the famous An- 
thony Thacher, one of the original grantees of that town ; 



45 

Edmund Freeman, of Sandwich ; Deacon John Freeman, and 
Deacon John Done, of Eastham. These were all, at various 
times, Assistants of the Governor ; and, as such, they were 
also Associate Justices of the Supreme Colonial Bench. 

Among the politicians of Cape Cod, as a matter of local 
curiosity rather than of general importance, it may be men- 
tioned that the first Deputies or Representatives from the 
Cape, to the General Court at Plymouth, in 1G3'J, were Richard 
Bourne, and John Vincent, of Sandwich ; Joseph Hall, and 
Thomas Dimmick, of Barnstable ; Thomas Payne, and Phil- 
lip Tabor, of Yarmouth. Statemanship seems, in fact, to 
have been but little cultivated, or even regarded, among our 
colonial fathers,— except so far as it tended to promote the 
cause of Christianity, which v/as the great and all absorbing 
idea of their lives. It is, however, somewhat remarkable that, 
during the entire colonial history of Cape Cod, which em- 
braced a period of about fifty-three years, notwithstanding 
her settlements were few and small and very remote from 
the seat of power, she was represented in the chair of the ex- 
ecutive Chief Magistrate more than half that time. 

Of Thomas Prence, the first colonial Governor from the 
Cape, special notice seems to be required on this occasion. 
No one who is at all acquainted with the history of those 
times, can fail to have been deeply interested in his life and 
character. He was one of the original settlers of Eastham 
in 1644 ; and, during the latter portion of his days, he was be- 
yond comparison the first man in all the Colony. Although 
he was never blessed with great advantages for learning, yet 
he was the earliest and firmest friend of education. To his 
untiring efforts, the Colonists were mainly indebted for the 
establishment of public schools among them. He was also 
singularly devoted to the cause of religion, and to the sup- 
port of a learned and regular ministry. In 1657, he was re- 
elected to the ofiice of Governor, as being " the fittest and 
ablest " man to meet the emergencies of that critical period. 
He was continued in that office for sixteen consecutive years ; 
during which time, he encountered and overcame foreign and 
domestic dangers which more than once threatened the des- 
truction of the Church and State. His course has been re- 



46 

garded by some as at times severe, and somewhat intolerant ; 
but the public honors which he continued to receive, show 
that such was not the general conviction of his contempo- 
raries. A candid and thorough examination of his whole 
administration must convince any one, that his apparent sever- 
ity arose only from his great anxiety for the general good, 
and his determined efforts for the safety of the Common- 
wealth. No man of his time, bearing the burthens which he 
bore, could have carried a more lenient, or efficient hand. It 
is difficult for us, at this period, to calculate how much we 
owe to the industry, integrity, energy and judgment of that 
one man. His personal appearance seems to have been strik- 
ingly indicative of his uncommon powers. " He had a counte- 
nance full of majesty, and therein was a terror to evil doers." 
He died in 1673, at an advanced age, and deeply lamented by 
all the Colony. A curious relic of his day still remains. A 
pear-tree, planted by his hand upon his estate in Eastham, is 
said to have survived the storms of two centuries, and yet 
continues, in its literally " green old age," to yield its annual 
fruits to its owner of the present generation. 

Seven years after the decease of Governor Prence, the 
chair of the colonial Chief Magistracy was again occupied 
by a citizen of Cape Cod. Thomas Hinckley, of Barnstable, 
was elected Governor of Plymouth Colony in 1680; and, 
saving the interruption of Sir Edmund Andross, continued to 
hold that office for twelve successive years, until the union 
of Plymouth and Massachusetts, in 1692. Mr. Hinckley had 
long been "a principal citizen, and a man of great influence" 
in his own immediate neighborhood. He was sent a Deputy 
to the General Court, in 1645. He was one of the Commis- 
sioners appointed to examine and revise the colonial laws in 
1671. He had filled the office of Assistant from 1658 to 
1681 ; and, as such, had been an Associate Justice of the 
Supreme Colonial Bench for twenty-three consecutive years. 
He was, without doubt, a man of extensive acquirements and 
of great natural talent. As a politician he was acute and 
sagacious. The policy of his course, during the reign of Sir 
Edmund, has been questioned and even censured by some. 
But his re-election to the office of Governor, and his continu- 



47 

ance in that office, so long as the Colony retained her separate 
existence, tend to show that the confidence of the public in 
his day remained unshaken, both as to his fidelity and ability. 
He died at Barnstable in 170G, where his remains now lie. 
The general history of Plymouth Colony, during the latter 
portion of Governor Hinckley's career, bear unmistakeable 
evidence that he was, above all others, the prominent and 
leading man. 

We now bid adieu to the Old Colony of Plymouth, that 
earliest cradle of New England, in which, under circumstan- 
ces at times the most perilous and painful, had been rocked 
the noblest principles of human liberty. 

The union of the Colonies, in 1692, was the commence- 
ment of a new political era. For a period of sixty years 
next succeeding, the history of Cape Cod presents very little 
of general importance. Domestic concerns seem principally 
to have engrossed her energies. Her commerce and her fish- 
eries continued to thrive under the management of her 
industrious and enterprising sons. Her wealth began to 
accumulate. Her population rapidly multiplied. The num- 
ber of her towns was enlarged. Falmouth had already been 
incorporated in 16S6. Harwich was added in 1694 ; Truro 
in 1705 ; Chatham in 1712 ; Provincetown in 1727 ; and 
Wellfleet in 1763. We hear very little, however, of her citi- 
zens in public life. She was honorably represented in the 
Provincial Councils, and in the popular branch of the general 
government. Justice commissions also were issued, accord- 
ing to the English practice, to individuals in all the different 
counties, with power to act in civil cases under forty shillings : 
and there was a Court of Q,uarter Sessions, consisting of all 
the .Justices in each county, for the trial of inferior criminal 
matters, and the management of county affairs. Some of 
those official dignitaries upon the Cape, are mentioned at 
this day as having been very important personages in their 
time. There was also a Court of Common Pleas in each 
county, with its appointed Judges, having jurisdiction in all 
civil actions under a certain amount. Upon this Bench for 
the county of Barnstable, among others, were Peter Thacher, 
and Richard Baxter, of Yarmouth ; Edward Bacon, and Daniel 



Davis, of Barnstable ; Ezra Bourne, and Nathaniel Freeman, of 
Sandwich; and John Done, of Eastharn. These with many 
others, their associates, whom we have not time to name, 
were men of great respectability; though few of them were 
deeply skilled in the science of law, as it is found in the 
books. Of their day, they were probably foremost in wis- 
dom and attainments, but that was not a day of great intel- 
lectual competition. In addition to the civil tribunals already 
mentioned, 1 will here state that there was also a Superior 
Provincial Court, possessing all the judicial powers of the Com- 
mon Pleas, the King's Bench, and the Exchequer, of England. 
No citizen of Cape Cod, however, was honored with a seat up- 
on the Superior Bench, during the provincial period ; — a cir- 
cumstance very trivial, in itself alone considered, but from 
which consequences of immense importance to the Country 
seem eventually to have arisen — to which we shall allude 
hereafter. 

The natural result of extending the jurisdiction of Massa- 
chusetts Bay over so wide a territory was that each original 
portion became of less general importance. The reciprocal 
effect of this was, that each component part lost a portion of 
its former interest in the general affairs of the State. Aside 
from territorial extension, however, another cause operated 
with still greater power upon the public mind, to wean their 
affections from the newly instituted government. Their 
political relations had been changed. It was no longer a 
State of their own creation. They were now its subjects 
and not its sovereigns. Under the provincial charter the 
government was the mere creature of a foreign will. Its 
officers derived their appointment and authority mostly from 
the Crown. The executive and judicial departments were 
filled with royal favorites. The Board of Assistants, under the 
name of Executive Counsellors, continued much as before ; 
except that the judicial powers formerly vested in them, were 
now transferred to a distinct tribunal. The people naturally 
lost their regard for officers in whose creation they had no 
part, and over whose conduct they no longer had any control. 
As a body, they now had no voice in the affairs of State, 



49 

except through the House of Representatives; whom it is 
true they elected, but whose acts were so Hmited by an exec- 
utive veto as to render them of very httle importance. The 
effect of such a change soon became visible in another re- 
spect. The harvest of great men began to decline. The 
circumstances of the times were no longer calculated to en- 
courage and develop the energies of the people. Individual 
merit was overlooked. The wisdom and strength of the 
multitude was not so taxed, as formerly, in providing for 
great emergencies, and in carrying forward the work of gov- 
ernmental reform. 

It was, however, a favorable condition on some accounts. 
It afforded opportunity for reflection. It taught the people 
to appreciate those lessons of freedom and philosophy em- 
bodied in their colonial history ; and it prepared them to profit 
thereby, whenever the proper occasion should present itself. 
In the meantime matters were steadily progressing towards a 
glorious consummation. Education was becoming generally 
diffused among all classes. Population was increasing. From 
two hundred thousand, the number of the colonists in 1689, 
they had grown to three millions, in 1775. The intercolonial 
wars of King William and Q,ueen Anne served also to teach 
the Provincials their real strength, and to keep them from 
growing sluggish. 

The spirit of the old colonial fathers was not to rest for- 
ever under the misrule of the provincial government. The 
soil of America was not adapted to the permanent growth of 
monarchical principles. New England, particularly, was 
ruined beyond hope, as the future theatre of despotism in any 
form. The arrogance and aggressions of the royal ministry 
soon began to be viewed with jealousy and discontent. The 
time at length arrived when the yoke of English tyranny 
could no longer be endured in silence, and the people com- 
plained aloud of their invaded and endangered rights. The 
restraints which had operated upon the public mind were 
partially removed. The excitement was universal. An awful 
crisis was at hand. A theatre was opened for heroic action 
and for noble deeds. Personal valor and individual effort 



50 

were again required. Once more there was a call for bold 
and resolute men. 

That call was not unheeded, nor in vain. The great seat 
of congregated wisdom and enlightened patriotism was in 
this ancient and time-honored metropolis. Here the sessions 
of the people had been held. Here was the assembled body 
of political and intellectual power. Here were accustomed 
to be heard those oracles of State. Here, in royal and terrible 
array, sat Wealth, and Arrogance, and Pride. — And here, too, 
sat Virtue, and Philosophy, and Genius, with Learning, and 
Eloquence, in solemn consultation upon questions of human 
liberty and human rights. Among that noble company were 
those whose hearts were burning with the spirit of exalted 
patriotism. There was Gushing, and Dexter, and Bowdoin, 
and Thacher, and Hawley, and Adams, — the bold and un- 
flinching champions of justice. They stood like priests and 
prophets around the altar of their Country's freedom. And 
there was yet another, — foremost among them all, — himself a 
"flame of fire," — he who lighted, at a single touch, the glori- 
ous sacrifice, — the admired, the accomplished, the truly gifted, 
Cape Cod boy. He it was who became the great prime 
mover, in the first great scene, of the American Revolution. 
He who, by one heroic efl'ort, " breathed into this nation the 
breath of life." He left his great compatriots all behind. 
He climbed the loftiest pinnacle of fame, — and he wrote the 
name of Otis there. 

Surely it was enough for Barnstable to have been the 
birthplace of one, whose career was thus devoted to his 
Country's weal, and whose undying name has since become 
the glory of our nation. But James Otis did not come un- 
heralded before the world. For near a hundred years before, 
the fathers of that great American orator had earned and eaten 
their daily bread upon the soil of Barnstable. John Otis, his 
grandfather, — the Colonel, Counsellor, and Judge, — was 
an illustrious citizen of Barnstable. James Otis, his distin- 
guished father, — the Speaker of the House, the Attorney 
General of the Province, the Colonel, and the Judge, — was 
also a citizen and a native of that ancient town. 



51 

What special inspiration may have been imparted to this 
noblest scion of that noble race, it is difficult to say. Per- 
haps the land of his nativity afforded no incentive to his 
riper years, — and yet, since history so asserts, it may not be 
amiss here to repeat the rumor of those days. 1 have already 
stated, while speaking of the Superior Provincial Court, that 
no citizen of our native county was ever honored with a 
seat upon that Bench. James Otis, the father of the " pa- 
triot," so called, was for many years a prominent and right 
worthy candidate for that high office. It was an appoint- 
ment earnestly expected and desired by the public. He was 
repeatedly assured of it, and repeatedly deceived. As well 
it might, this fact gave serious offence to many of his friends, 
and added greatly to the general discontent. It is said the 
Provincial Government paid very dearly for this seeming 
neglect of Cape Cod merit : and that they tried to make 
atonement, but found repentance came too late. To this 
circumstance, as an exciting cause, we are told, the royal 
Governor himself afterwards publicly attributed all those 
troubles which eventually led to the American Revolution, 
and the final sacrifice of His Majesty's Colonies in America. 
Now, if this were really true, Cape Cod did thus perform a 
most important part in the early struggles of that revolution. 
The Provincial Government certainly did pay a heavy pen- 
alty for that indignity, shown to her illustrious citizen ; but 
America this day has reason to rejoice that Cape Cod then 
had sons, able to arouse a nation, and thus to revenge her 
insults and her injuries. 

Our native shores had ever been, and continued still to be, 
the homes of noble men. The old puritanic principles had 
not become extinct. The public records of the towns upon 
the Cape show that her inhabitants were active in the revo- 
lutionary cause. Her contributions were not only free, but 
very generous. Her sober minded yeomanry put on the sol- 
dier's armor, and marched in companies to join the continen- 
tal army. From the exposed condition of her seaboard, the 
prospects of her citizens were peculiarly endangered. Their 
dependence was mainly upon the ocean. Their wealth was 



52 

principally invested in commerce and in the fisheries. No 
other department of industry had grown so fast, or so great, 
in all New England. The number of ships engaged in the 
colonial trade was already near two thousand, with fifty 
thousand seamen on their decks. In the fisheries eleven 
thousand men, and one hundred thousand tons of shipping, 
were steadily employed. As a maritime community, there- 
fore, the citizens of Cape Cod were deeply interested in all 
which pertained to the public relations of the Country. 
Least of all could they afford a rupture of their commercial 
intercourse. Yet they were alive to the subject of colonial 
rights. Their loyalty was great, but their love of liberty 
was greater. A feeling of indignation at recent political 
events ran all along those border settlements. Patriotic 
meetings were held at a very early period. Resolutions were 
adopted which breathed a heroic and independent spirit. 
Committees of correspondence were chosen, in the several 
towns, to communicate with the citizens of Boston upon the 
state of public sentiment. They tendered their warmest 
sympathies upon the side of freedom, and pledged to it their 
support. So far as possible, they prohibited the consumption 
or the use of articles imported under the late revenue acts of 
Parliament ; and they publicly instructed their representatives, 
at the proper time, to advocate a declaration of American 
Independence. It is inspiring to behold how, in the midst of 
desolation and distress, they played the hero's part. To 
them, the future was fearfully portentious. With them, the 
fortunes of the war must necessarily go hard. Their present 
hopes were crushed ; their income was suspended ; their 
commerce was cut off ; their fisheries were ruined. The soil, 
that last resort of all embargoed nations, was but a feeble 
staff for the support of men unused even to its cultivation. 
They drank a double portion of the bitter cup. Tradition 
tells us of perils and privations hard to be endured ; of pri- 
vate and domestic scenes which wring the heart of sympa- 
thy. Yet they survived it all, and even put their shoulders 
to the common wheel. 

How sad it is we know not more of such humble and 



53 

devoted men. The Muse of history, however, does not stoop 
low enough to rescue from oblivion the deeds, or names, or 
numbers, even, of those private martyrs to the public cause. 
But the humble and the great are alike, in fact, the heroes of 
such days. Those who are not learned in the arts of speech, 
are valliant advocates upon the field of death. Of the 
countless multitude, amid those scenes of mental agony and 
bloody strife, who yielded up their lives to save a desperate 
cause, it is difficult to say who was the bravest or the great- 
est among them all. In the career of public and official life, 
it is possible to imagine patriotism in action, goaded on by 
ambition at the heart, — but tell me, if you can, what nobler 
patriotism is there to be found, than burns within that hum- 
ble breast, to which kind fortune tells no flattering tale, and 
makes no golden promises. We cannot overrate the heroic 
sentiment of those who patiently abide their Coimtry's call ; 
who for her, cast their bodies into the fearful breach, — lay 
bare their bosoms to the messengers of death, and venture 
their earthly all upon the hazard of a die. Of that innu- 
merable company who lie forgotten in their silent beds, 
whose names were never written upon their Country's page, if 
their deeds and virtues were but known, how many should 
we find deserving well to wear the laurel'd wreath, and share 
a liberal measure of heroic fame. 

But that day is past. That field was nobly won. The victors 
and the vanquished rejoice alike in the fortunes of that hour. 
England, herself, is proud to recognize a rival sister in the 
slave she coveted. 

The peace which followed that eventful contest, was 
indeed a welcome harbinger to the inhabitants of Cape Cod. 
Nowhere did the revolving sun shine more brightly than 
upon her quiet shores. The winds of Heaven which wafted 
from her coast those hostile fleets, breathed gladness into a 
thousand hearts. Their hopes were now revived again. 
The pent up energies of many years were now called forth 
anew. Commerce was let loose, and spread her myriad sails 
upon the surface of the deep. The surplus resources of the 
Cape, invited to her shores a population vigorous and active. 
New towns were added to the ancient sisterhood ; — Dennis 



54 

in 1793 ; Orleans in 1797 ; and Brewster, the youngest of the 
family, in 1803. 

Nearly half a century has now elapsed since the domestic 
circle of the Cape was thus completed. The career of her 
intervening life has, indeed, been prosperous and happy. I 
have said Cape Cod was rich ; — rich in her local history,— rich 
in ancestral honors, — rich in her maritime advantages, — 
rich in the vigor and enterprise of her sons, — rich in the fruits 
of their industry, — rich in the virtues of social and domestic 
life. Of her local and ancestral history, I will say no more ; 
of her present character and condition, I have yet a word to 
add. 

The native soil upon the Cape is poor, — for the most part, 
miserably poor. She has no waving wheat fields, no mur- 
muring forests, no tumbling water-falls, to invite the hand of 
industry or art. In this seeming misfortune lies a portion of 
her strength, — if not, in fact, the secret of her entire success. 
Her only hope is on the sea. An overruling Providence seems 
thus to have ordained her to be, what she already has be- 
come, the great nursery of commerce. The attention of her 
citizens has never been divided. They have no hybrid 
growth of character among them. They are not landsmen 
to the middle, and seamen upward, but they are entirely and 
thoroughly devoted to their great calling upon the deep. — 
Other advantages being equal, the greater the poverty of the 
land upon the Cape, the richer and the happier are her inhab- 
itants. Provincetown, — whose soil, changeable and uncer- 
tain as the snow that drifts, scarcely supports a single spear 
of native vegetation — Provincetown, — the Sahara of Cape 
Cod, where all the freehold property which nature ever gave 
her, if bid off at public sale, would hardly satisfy the auc- 
tioneer — Provincetown, in proportion to her population, is 
not only by far the wealthiest town upon the Cape, but in 
personal estate, I think the richest town in all the Common- 
wealth. 

By untiring energy, steady devotion, and strict econ- 
omy, Cape Cod has attained her present affluent condition. 
Her barren territory is dotted over with little clustering 
villages, all of which bear striking evidence of industry 



00 

and thrift. Upon a soil, sterile by nature, and scarcely suscep- 
tible of improvement, her inhabitants have accumulated stores 
of wealth, and made to themselves a home full of comfort 
and content. "With a population of nearly forty thousand 
souls, for each there is a competency. But her harvest is 
upon the deep ; — her reapers are vigorous and bold. The 
symbols of her enterprise are found in every portion of the 
earth which offers a reward to her skilful navigators. Those 
fleets of white-winged fishermen which hover about her 
coast, or crowd her little harbors their burthens to unload, — 
those gallant hosts of commerce which hug her winding 
shores, — are not a tithe of that greater multitude, of more 
gigantic size, which, taking their departure hence, or com- 
manded by her sons, traverse the Atlantic, the Indian, and 
the Pacific ; visit the Northern and the Southern Tropics ; 
wind their course through every bay, and gulf, and river, to 
every border capital and city in the world ; and finally, pres- 
sing their way over every sea and ocean, explore the whole 
convex surface of the watery globe. 

Such is but a hasty view of the industrial character and 
condition of Cape Cod. Let us now follow those spirited 
adventurers, for a moment, into the civil, social, and domestic 
walks of life. 

In all their public relations the inhabitants of the Cape are 
emphatically a peaceable and law abiding people. As citizens 
of the State, they are liberal and true. In their commercial in- 
tercourse, they are generous and upright. With an amount of 
business competition, not surpassed in any community of the 
same extent, litigation is a thing almost unknown. Their 
courts of justice are, generally, but courts of reference and 
friendly arbitration, — in all their different sessions, occupying 
seldom more than a single week in each successive year. 
Their prisons and their almshouses appear like deserted cas- 
tles. If not wholly tenantless, they are, to a great extent, oc- 
cupied by strangers from abroad. I do not mean to say that 
misfortune and transgression are never known among the 
inhabitants of Cape Cod, — but that, as a general fact, plenty, 
honesty, and peace, reign without cessation among her native 
population. 



56 

In common with other portions of New England, the 
citizens of the Cape seem to possess those sterling prin- 
ciples which insure success amid the scenes of busy emu- 
lation. Upon a character, so pleasing in all its attributes, 
I think, however, the virtues of social and domestic life 
stand out most prominent and fair. To them belong most, 
if not all the virtues of New England character, without 
many of its seeming imperfections. 

I trust this expression is not unpardonable. We can but 
rejoice in the general character and habits of New England. 
We admire that integrity of principle which pervades her 
population ; that march of intellect which almost surpasses 
calculation. We admire that wondrous energy of will which 
converts mountains into molehills ; that ingenuity of mind 
which exhausts the resources of the surrounding elements ; 
that activity of purpose which extends her commerce over 
all the habitable globe, and spreads its canvas wings on 
every sea and ocean. We glory in that spirit of invention 
which drives its iron horse over its iron track, — which bits 
the electric spark, — which rides expresses over telegraphic 
wires — outstripping time itself in speed, by arriving at the 
journey's end, even before that journey was commenced, ac- 
cording to the strictest rules of solar calculation. We can 
but look upon all these things with pride and admiration. 
But if in any particular, we chose to complain of New Eng- 
land character and New England habits, we should point to 
that rigid and more than puritanic devotion to what are 
called the graver duties of life ; that untiring and unceasing 
application ; those brains that are ever aching, ever bursting, 
with some new project for gain ; those hands which are ever 
toiling, ever grasping, never releasing their hold upon the 
things of time and sense ; that constant anxiety for the 
future, which completely enslaves the present, and dooms 
the entire soul and body of the community to hard and un- 
remitting labor ; that somewhat selfish accumulation of means, 
never to be enjoyed in this day or generation, and which 
shall only serve to nurture indolence and vice among sur- 
feited descendants; — finally, that giant and all-absorbing en- 
terprise, which converts our villages and towns into mere 



57 

shipyards, workshops, and cotton factories, — onr cities into 
pnblic depots, and warehouses of trade, — our laboring popu- 
lation, into locomotive trip-hammers, and animated spindles, — 
in fact, our whole community, into one vast, swarming, 
active, and powerful, Corporation Aggregate. 

From this hive of industry, from this perplexity of care, 
from this wearisome routine of labor, the soul of man must, 
at times, have retirement and rest. This world was not 
intended as the cheerless workhouse of our race. Life was 
never ordained of God to be a dreary term of unremitting 
service to his creatures. The moral health of the individual, 
and of the public, demands a proper cultivation of the social 
virtues and affections. And yet, there lies herein a wondrous 
difference between communities as well as individuals. I re- 
fer to that nobler discipline of the heart ; that fuller development 
of the soul : — in fine, that emancipation of the faculties from 
the servitude of gain, and that greater devotion to the duties, 
the pleasures, and the amenities, of social life. 

In this respect, our native land does not depend upon her 
children for panegyric. Her eulogy is upon the lips of all to 
whom an opportunity has been given to test the hospitality 
of her citizens, or to become acquainted with their social 
virtues. It has been often said, and I doubt not with sin- 
cerity, that in those attributes of character which mark the 
liberal man, the desirable neighbor, the faithful friend, and 
the agreeable companion, the inhabitants of Cape Cod gen- 
erally excite the stranger's attention and regard. This cer- 
tainly is exalted praise for any people ; and yet, if we reflect 
upon the matter, it would seem but a very natural result of 
their general condition and mode of life. 

The system of early training upon the Cape is singularly 
calculated to develop peculiar attributes of character. 1 
speak not now of that learning which is taught in books, but 
of that discipline which comes only from experience and 
association. We borrow unconsciously much of character 
and destiny from the surrounding circumstances of our early 
life. The career of the Cape Cod boy is a striking illustra- 
tion of this fact. By early education he becomes a sailor. 



58 

From his infancy he looks upon the ocean as his future 
theatre of action. The very nursery is to him a scene of 
preparation. A neatly modelled vessel is, in fact, the beau- 
ideal of his childish fancy. The pigmy craft becomes 
his chosen plaything. At seven, he trims her little sails, and 
navigates her skilfully from creek to creek. At eight, he 
takes preliminary lessons, — he ventures upon his favorite ele- 
ment, and learns the art of swimming. At ten, he is usually 
master of the rudiments, and is ready to embark upon the 
fortunes of a sailor's life — to him so full of novelty and 
romance. He now looks forward to the hour when he may 
realize his boyish dreams, and gratify his young ambition, by 
witnessing those very scenes of which he has so often heard 
with wonder and delight. He steps on board his gallant ship 
with a heart full of noble aspirations. He rejoices in the of- 
fice of a cabin-boy, and yet he gazes with a longing eye upon 
the post of foremast-hand. He laughs to think the time is 
coming when he may climb those dizzy heights and do an 
able seaman's duty. Stage by stage, he marks the years of his 
advancement, from the galley to the forecastle, from the 
forecastle to the quarter deck. With an eye of faith he views 
the approaching day when, as master, he shall pace that no- 
ble ship, and be himself in turn a hero. 

. How many years of hardship does that boy endure in -such 
anticipations. — Rut it is not in vain to him. Rising, step by 
step, through every grade in regular succession, from cah'm- 
boy to captain, he at length assumes that high command, 
and enters upon its duties as a monarch of the deep. Upon 
that floating deck he knows no master now. HifTwill, his 
word, his judgment, and his purpose, are supreme. The lives, 
the fortunes, the property and hopes of many are entrusted 
to his care. With a strong and unfailing heart he meets his 
great responsibilities. Thus is he schooled and thus is he 
fitted for his exalted sphere. And what a school for human- 
ity is here ; — what discipline of mind, what development of 
soul, is begotten by a life like this. 

Consider, once more, the general character of that em- 
ployment ; the world-wide school of experience it affords ; 
the acquaintance it begets with the various countries and 



59 

cities upon the globe ; the knowledge it imparts of men and 
manners ; the opportunity it gives for social communication 
with every class and condition of mankind. — Consider, 
again, the leisure which it furnishes for reading and medita- 
tion ; the long dull hours on shipboard, which cannot other- 
wise be profitably or even pleasurably spent. A moment's 
reflection convinces one that uncommon advantages here 
exist for self-cultivation ; that the strongest inducements are 
here presented for the improvement of those advantages ; 
and that, as a reasonable,. if not a necessary consequence, the 
choicest attributes of character arc here developed for the 
social and domestic circles of life. 

Among such men you are not to look for that highest de- 
gree of mental discipline, or for those varied and refined 
accomplishments, which are found among those who congre- 
gate in cities. In the early discipline of boyhood, they 
generally lay the solid foundation of a practical New Eng- 
land education, and upon this they subsequently build a 
noble and peculiar superstructure. For the learning of the 
schools, they have but little occasion, and but little opportu- 
nity. If, however, you desire such information as cannot be 
found in books, — if you are in search of that knowledge 
which comes from travel only, and which generally makes 
the "agreeable companion, — here you have it face to face. 
Let your conversation take its widest range; discuss the 
condition and appearance of foreign countries ; the produc- 
tions of their soil ; the education and occupation of their cit- 
izens ; — their style of dress and architecture : — in fine, extend 
your inquiries to the manners, customs, character and habits 
of all nations, — and you will have men of intelligence about 
you, who, from the stores of their experience, are able and 
ready to impart. 

You are not to expect among such men those cultivated 
graces which adorn the more elegant circles of metropolitan 
life ; — yet, there is a manliness and generosity of deportment 
about them which always elicit admiration. Of all New 
England men, such as the country can produce, there are but 
few, I think, who so command attention or regard, as the 



60 

aged and middle-aged gentlemen upon the Cape. Cordiality, 
liberality, frankness, and independence, are the prominent 
and distinguishing features of character among them. You 
behold in them the sinew and courage of a giant, — while, at 
the same time, you discover the gentleness and affection of 
a child. In their general demeanor, they are courteous and 
respectful, — yet, from habit, they address you with an air of 
firmness and authority. With the manners of the world 
they are perfectly familiar, — and yet, practically, they are 
strangers to its narrow subterfuges. Their position has been 
one of dignity and honor ; their word has been the law of 
their floating province ; they have had no occasion, there- 
fore, to study the arts of petty dissimmulation. Servility of 
conduct does not, in fact, belong to those who are accus- 
tomed to command. — In fine, their presence, tones and 
actions, all inspire you with confidence and attachment. 
You feel that you are dealing with a class in whose souls 
the noblest principles of human nature have been developed. 
In a community, consisting of such men, it is needless to 
remark that the social sentiments generally predominate. If 
not thus inclined by nature, their situation upon the Cape 
would lead to this result. Home with them is by no means 
a theatre of gain, — it is rather a place of retirement and 
recreation. Their minds are no longer occupied with 
schemes of traffic and busy competition. The harness of 
labor is cast aside for a season, while they devote them- 
selves to the rational enjoyments of life — to the pleasures 
of friendly communion, and social intercourse. A spirit of 
good faith and good fellowship usually prevails through- 
out their precincts. The neighborhood becomes, in fact, but 
a wider extension of the family circle. With open hands, 
open hearts, and open doors, they welcome each other to all 
the hospitalities which their condition will afi"ord. — Nor do 
they limit their generosity to mere acts of neighborly kind- 
ness and civility. The latch-string of their sympathy is 
never " pulled in." The stranger among them is always 
greeted with respect, and the temporary sojourner becomes 
the village guest. 



61 

The virtues of the citizen and the neighbor, however, 
shine brighter, it is said, in the husband and the father. 
Nowhere is this truth more apj^arent tlian among the inhab- 
itants of the Cape. It is natural that it should be so. After 
a career of twenty or thirty years upon the ocean, the Cape 
Cod captain generally attains the object of his pursuits, — and 
he then retires, with a reasonable competency, to pass the 
balance of his days in leisure and repose. Having been en- 
gaged in the most important and respectable departments of 
commerce, with every class and condition of mankind, his 
soul has become enlarged; his views, his feelings, and his 
tastes, refined ; and he is thus prepared to appreciate, and to 
cultivate, the higher virtues of life. 

" Like a long lost child, returned at last, — 
Like a weary man, when the day is past," 

he revels in the scenes of domestic bliss. The pleasures of 
home are made sweeter by the recollection of his former 
toils. Its duties and its relations are rendered doubly dear 
to him now, because of his earlier privations. To be a citi- 
zen upon his native soil, released from the cares and dangers 
of his calling — to be at rest in the midst of those he loves — 
is to him a situation full of novelty and delight. He enters 
upon its enjoyments therefore, with a heart full of the 
freshness and buoyancy of youth. 

Such, in a word, is the social and domestic character of 
the citizens of Cape Cod. A nobler class of intelligent, 
honorable, frank and generous men, seldom grace the com- 
mon circles of life. Taking them all in all, you may travel 
the face of the wide world over, and you will not often find 
their like. — But I should feel that I was unfaithful to my 
trust, if, while dwelling upon the character of the Cape, and 
the virtues of her sons, I should forget another class who 
mingle in this scene, and who bear a most important part in 
the duties and destinies of life. I mean the daughters of 
Cape Cod. 

We are told that the finishing handwork of the Creator's 
plan was woman. She was his last, and, wiio shall doubt, 



62 

his best embodiment of perfection. In all those virtues 
which ennoble and adorn the walks of social life, or cast 
their halo around the sanctuary of home, woman is by na- 
ture the superior of man. Her calling is not amid the scenes 
of jDublic life. Hers rather is the school of virtue and affec- 
tion. It is hers to cheer the sinking heart ; to soothe the 
pangs of anguish ; and to whisper in the ear of grief those 
words of consolation. Hers also is that higher task allot- 
ted her by heaven, to rear the tender plant of youth ; to watch 
its infant progress ; and to nurture the opening buds of prom- 
ise with the dews of gentleness and love. 

What a debt of gratitude we owe to those faithful women, 
who left the nursery of home behind, to embark upon the 
waters ; — in whose hearts the dangers and the sufferings of 
the wilderness were surmounted by affection. How deeply 
are we indebted to those heroic mothers, who, in the darkest 
hour of agony and despair, sustained the sinking energies of 
our fathers ; — those fair colaborers in the work of building up 
a Colony, — who watched, and worked, and prayed, within 
their little tents, and tried to bar their doors against the in- 
roads of starvation and distress. We need not be reminded 
of those many ties which bind us to the worthy progeny of 
that heroic race, — the mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters, 
of the present generation. I dare not here attempt a de- 
scription of their peculiar virtues ; — where all is loveliness, it 
is invidious to compare. Suffice it now to say that, side by 
side with their generous companions, they are always found 
discharging their appropriate duties, and reflecting equal 
credit upon the land which gave them birth. 

From those brave adventurers, however, who sail upon the 
deep, let us for one moment turn our eyes toward that inter- 
esting household, from whence such spirits emigrate. In the 
absence of their appointed head, how nobly do its members 
bear their double portion of domestic duty. The calling of 
the husband, and the father, is abroad, — the wife, or mother, 
thus becomes the only present, ostensible, and active partner. 
The labor and responsibilities of home are entrusted mostly 
to her providence and care. Hers is the direction and the 



63 

toil, by which the homestead and the household thrive. — 
Happy, indeed, were it for that devoted class, if this were all 
which they were summoned to endure. Tliey enjoy compar- 
atively but little in the present, — happiness, with them, de- 
pends mainly upon the future. To them all winds are pros- 
perous which hasten a return, all messages are welcome which 
bring glad tidings from afar. But, alas ! how painful are the 
disappointments which frequeutly befall them. How the cords 
of their affection are tested every hour. How dreadfully 
uucertain are all those hopes aud fears of that domestic 
circle, whose hearts are upon the deep ; whose fortuues hang 
upon the mercy of the elements ; — to whom the Bible, and 
the Shipping-list, are the dearest nurseries of faith. 

To the sous and daughters of the Cape alike belong the 
praises which are bestowed upon the land of our nativity ; 
for theirs has been the united task of building up her for- 
tunes. And verily, they have earned a noble recompense. 
At home, and abroad, they behold the fruits of their fidelity. 
In the crowded cities of the East, in the capitals of the 
West, their companions are toiling with vigor and success. 
All seas, all lands, all climates, are the witnesses of their 
enterprise and virtue. In all the various departments of 
life they are ably represented, — among the ocean mon- 
archs, among the merchant princes, in the sacred halls of 
learning, from the pulpit, at the bar, upon the solemn seat 
of judgment, among the councils of the Nation, in the cham- 
bers of the State, — there is no post so full of danger, no place 
so full of honor, but their industry may conquer and their 
virtues may adorn. 

To you, Honored Sirs, who have trodden the paths of life 
with such merit and success, the benedictions of our native 
land are due, for the distinction conferred upon her name by 
your deportment in the past. In view of your position, well 
may she point, with feelings of gratitude and pride, to the 
character and example of her sons. To you, as elder brothers 
of that family, the younger portion of her children naturally 
look for wisdom and instruction. The task is ([uite impossi- 
ble to calculate the amount of inllueuce which you are 



64 

thus exerting upon the destinies of the present. We are told 
that it was a custom among the Ancients, to instruct their 
children in the principles of life, by allowing them to visit 
the assemblies of the State, — thus, by the presence and 
example of their heroes, inspiring the youthful heart to imi- 
tate their virtues. How many students in their closets, — how 
many salesmen behind their counters, — -how many sailor boys 
upon the ocean, have looked upon the precedents which you 
have set before them, and thereby been encouraged to follow 
your career. How many, inspired by your example, al- 
ready have attained to such positions as, by their unassisted 
strength, they never could have reached. To such, it is a 
privilege to meet you here to-day ; to drink still deeper, in 
your presence, from those wells of inspiration ; here, by the 
chart and compass of your experience, to direct anew their 
courses for the future. — While to you, Sirs, it cannot be 
otherwise than pleasing, to behold a rising generation, striv- 
ing to imitate your virtues, — and resolved, if possible, to share 
a portion of your past success. 

If this Association shall have the desired effect, by such 
influences, to elevate the character of its members ; to raise 
their aspirations higher ; or to stimulate their souls to greater 
activity of life ; then shall we all have reason to rejoice that, 
while we have thus attempted to discharge our duties toward 
the past, — while we have endeavored thus to cultivate a be- 
coming regard for the home of our nativity,— we have also 
experienced a renewal of heart, and been made better as well 
as stronger for the future. 



()5 



The Chair now announced that Toasts and Speeches were 
the order of the evening, and he introduced Henry Crocker, 
Esq., as Toast Master ; who gave the following, as the first 
regular toast — 

Cape Cod, our Home — The first to honor the Pilgrim ship, the 
first to receive the Pilgrims' feet ; she is the first and the last, 
and always the dearest in the memory of her children every- 
where ! Again we repeat the motto of our Association — " Cape 
God, our Home^ 

This toast was rapturously received, and nine cheers were 
spontaneously and enthusiastically given, all present starting 
at once to their feet. 

The following song, written for the occasion, was then 
sung by the entire company, the accompaniment being played 
by the band — 

Tune — "home, s-\veet home." 

The home of our sires, where the rilg:rims first trod ; 

Where they first oft'ered thanks for their safety to God ; 

That home we will eherish; their memory revere; 

Their spirits, it may be, arc hovering here. 
Home, home, the Pilgrims liome, 
We ne'er can forget thee, our ocean-hound home. 

The home of our childhood ! in fancy we see 

Its welcoming arm ever stretched to the sea : 

Its beacons aye blazing, its liearts true and wann, 

The sailor's sure refuge, when loud howls the storm. 
Home, home, our childhoods home. 
We ne'er can forget thee, our ocean-bound home. 

AV'hcrcvcr onr footsteps in manhood may roam, 

We will fondly look back to our forefathers' home. 

And cherish the thouglit of that sheltering bay 

AVhere, rocked by the billows, the Mayflower lay. 
Home, home, dearly loved home, 
We proudly can say, there is no place like home. 

These regular toasts then followed : — 

The Day adopted as our Anniversary — The eleventh of Xov- 
ember, 1620, gave to the world the first written compact of civil 
government ! Its results, then inconceivable by the little band 
who subscribed it in the cabin of the Mayfiower, are, to-day, the 
glorious enjoyment of a mighty nation, and in the future are to 
be the invaluable inheritance of a world of freemen. 



66 

The United S'tates — Would the people in other sections of the 
country emulate the example of the sons and daughters of Cape 
Cod, in their devotion to Union, neither principalities nor powers, 
nor things present, nor things to come, would be able to separate 
them. 

The band here played " Hail Columbia !" 

The State of Massachusetts — The chosen land of the Pilgrims 5 
of liberty, of literature and enterprise. 

In reference to the indecisive election of the day before, the 
band played 

" Oh Dear, what can the matter be." 

The Pilgrim Society — Our elder brother ; though we do not 
profess to be seers (Sears) still we venture to predict that we 
shall never find its President tvarring (Warren) against us. 

Judge Charles H. Warren, President of the Pilgrim Society, 
responded to this toast. He thanked the meeting for the 
mention made of that Society, and said they would be glad 
to have such a large addition to their family, as the Cape Cod 
Association. They would say to this Society, Ood speed. 

He adverted to early years, and said that the Constitution 
formed in the Mayflower, was the only one that no party, 
and no coalition of parties, ever offered to amend. 

He read a letter written by James Otis the younger, in 
1643, asking his father to send him funds to give a Com- 
mencement dinner on the day of his graduation. Judge 
Warren claimed descent from the first American who ever 
went to Cape Cod — one Peregrine White — the first white 
American born on Cape Cod, which circumstance showed the 
first act of the women of Cape Cod which is on record. He 
showed the original will of Peregrine, signed in 1704, when 
he was at the age of eighty-two. He then spoke of the 
many virtues and marked characteristics of the inhabitants 
of the Cape, and in regard to their moral character, said, that 
in seven years' experience in prosecuting criminals in Barn- 
stable, there was but a single instance of a native of the 
county, who was prosecuted for a crime sufficient to send 
him to the State's Prison. This, however, he would not say 
to flatter those present. It was true of those who stayed at 
home ; how it had been with those who came away, he 
would not say. Judge Warren also related several amusing 



67 

anecdotes of the past, which kept the company in the best 
possible humor. He gave this toast — 

Ca2)e Cod and Plymouth — Our fiithers ahvays lived in amity 
and peace. May their descendants always harmoniously unite in 
celebrating their virtues. 

The next regular sentiments were — 

The Press — Let but the j^ress be sni)p'cssed, and a host of 
evils will 2^ress upon us. The people would be oppresses?, their 
business depressed, our seamen imjyressed, and our imjjression is, 
(if we may be allowed to exjyress the opinion,) that we should 
soon be ready to cry ^^ presto, change" and remstate the printmg 
2)ress. 

The historical Society of 3Iassachii8etts, and its veneraUe 
President — They reflect honor upon each other. For the latter 
we Avould crave a long continuance of that blessing so devoutly 
prayed for by Old Philip in the " Haunted Man " — " Lord, keep 
his memory green." 

Hon. James Savage, President of the Historical Society, 
responded to this sentiment, and alluded to some of the inter- 
esting incidents connected with the signing of the famous 
Compact in the Mayflower's cabin, and to the men connected 
with it. He also spoke highly of the virtues of Wm. Brews- 
ter, as the first non-conformist layman, and concluded by 
calling upon those before him to renew their allegiance to 
the Compact of the Mayflower. 

The next regular toast was as follows : — 

The Mineral Productions of Cape Cod — Of far greater intrin- 
sic value than all the gold of California ; for there Indian corn 
was first dug out of the earth, and clams are still found in abun- 
dance. 

The next regular sentiment : — 

The Judiciary of Massachusetts — Cape Cod has c^-inced its 
respect for the laws by furnishing the bench with a Chief Justice. 

Chief Justice Shaw acknowledged this sentiment in a 
speech of some length, and alluded to the sacred compact of 
the pilgrim fathers, whicli was signed on board the Mayflow- 
er, in Cape Cod Harbor, on the 11th of November, 1G20, and 
said from that instrument sprung all the constitutions after- 
wards adopted in this country. 



68 

He alluded particularly to the fact that the early colonists 
not only established free governments for themselves, but 
they agreed to sustain each other against their common ene- 
my — King Philip and his warriors. In this there was a 
germ of that Union of governments which was necessary for 
the common welfare. 

He acknowledged himself a son of the Cape, and said 
nothing afforded him greater pleasure than to meet his asso- 
ciates of former days on occasions like the present. He con- 
cluded his address by giving the following toast . — 

The Cabin of the Mayfloiver — The Convention Hall of the 
Pilgrims, from the first dawning of whose light has emanated a 
blaze of constitutional freedom which has lighted up every moun- 
tain and penetrated every valley of the land. 

The next regular toast : — 

The Historical Society of Connecticut — 

rrom History's page all darkness to dispel. 
And dissipate the mists that round it dwell ; 
To brush the cobwebs of the past away, 
More light was Avanted: and behold their Day. 

Judge Day, President of the Historical Society of Connecti- 
cut, responded briefly, and introduced the Rev. Dr. Thomas 
RoBBiNs, of Connecticut, who arose and directed the atten- 
tion of the company to an ancient looking chest which was 
placed upon some chairs before him, and of which the follow- 
ing is the history : — 

This chest was the property of Elder Wilham Brewster, and 
with him landed from the Mayflower at Plymouth, Dec. 22, 1620. 
At his decease it became the property of his son William, and at 
his decease it became the property of his grandson Joseph Brews- 
ter, and at Joseph's decease it became the property of his great- 
grand-daughter, Ruth Brewster. Ruth ha\dng married a Mr. 
•Sampson, and then deceasing in the family of Mr. Pliny Day it 
became his property, and was purchased of him by Dr. Robbins. 

The chest is about five feet long, two and a half feet high, and 
two broad; is made of Norway pine, and painted red. It is 
securely fastened with iron clamps or straps around each corner, 
and at the end has a till. The lock and key are with it now as 
they were at first. The venerable Dr. further said that it was 
used as a table in the cabin of the Mayflower during the passage, 
and from its top the Pilgrims took their food. He further believed 
that it was made expressly for the voyage. This valuable relic 
of the past Avas gazed upon with eager interest by all present. 



69 

His account of the old relic was quite interesting, and at 
the close of his remarks the thanks of the society were ten- 
dered to him, at the suggestion of Hon. B. F. Hallett, for 
the pains which he had taken to add interest to the occasion. 

The Daughters of the Cape — Their charms have often drawn 
thither the learned, the eloquent, the brave, in Cupid's leading- 
strings to kneel at Hymen's altar. Any such here this evening, 
•will please honor this sight draft upon their song and sentiment ; — 
and especially would we now draio out Benjamin Dreio, Esq., of 
Boston. 

Mr. Drew came forward in answer to this call, and said — 
" Mr. President — Knowing the very high approval which 
you have seen fit to attach to certain articles in rhyme, which 
have at various times and on sundry occasions given me an 
immortality of near a week, — and having, as you intimate, 
become an adopted son of the Cape, I shall venture to offer 
you in response, the discovery and prophetic vision of one 
Bartholomew Gosnold."' 

BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD'S VISION. 

There sailed an ancient mariner, 

Bart. Gosnold was he hi<rht — 
The Cape was all a wilderness 

When Gosnold hove in sight. 

He saw canoes and wigwams rude, — 

By ruder builders made, — 
Squaws pounded samp about the doors, 

And dark papooses played. 

The hills were bold and fair to view, 

And covered o"cr with trees, 
Said Gosnold "bring a lishing-line. 

While lulls the evening breeze : 

I '11 christen that there sandy shore 

From the first fish I take : — 
Tautog or toadfish, cusk or cod, 

Horse mackerel or hake, 

Hard head or haddock, sculpin, squid. 

Goose fish, pipe fish or cunncr — 
No matter what, siiall with its name 

Yon promontory honor.'' 

Old Neptune heard the promise made, 

Down dove the water god — 
He scared the meaner fish away. 

And hooked the mammoth cod. 

Quick, Gosnold hauled — " Cape-Capc-CapeCod ! " 

" Cape Cod ! " the crew cried louder : 
" Here, steward ! take the fish along. 

And civp the bnvs a cliowdor." 



70 



Then Gosnold took his telescope, 

And swept the hilly shore : 
A second sight was in the lens — 

A thing unknown before. 

For tangled swamp and forest dense, 
Cleared fields and gardens prim 

Now met his view : for wigwam rude 
The cottage neat and trim. 

He saw the busy salt-mills whirl. 

The packets anchored near, 
Acres of flakes on which were spread 

The fortunes of a year. 

Three spires or more in every town, 

Wild meetings of come-outers, 
Men of a hundred varying creeds, 

From Catholics to doubters. 

He saw great gatherings in a grove, 

A grove near Pamet Bay, 
Where thousands heard the preacher's word, 

And dozens kneeled to pray. 

Aghast he stands in sudden fright. 

His hair ! behold it bristle ! 
The lens has brought a train so near, 

He hears the horrid whistle ! 

And peering into further years, — 

Not far from this, our day, — 
He saw the happy era when 

The Cape Cod Branch will pay. 

Still as he looked, the wondrous lens 

Kevealed tlie future ages, — 
He saw the Naushon run away 

From Higgins and the stages ! 

Unwonted wealth in Barnstable, 

Gold, silver, Yarmouth notes : 
For Barker's dyke had changed the crops 

From thatch to rye and oats. 

From Plymouth line to High-Pole hill 

He saw the vigorous Saxon, 
Bold, enterprising, hardy, brave, 

" Born to command," like Jackson. 

Captains were they of every craft, 
Of clippers, yachts and whalers : 

Ah ! Gosnold thought, — these go ahead 
Of even our English sailors. 

Anon he looks with gaze intense, — 

The fair ones pass in view, — 
Chaste, pious, prudent, helpmeets wise, 

With loving hearts and true. 

A flag he spies — the stars and stripes 

On Scargo's beacon land — 
Then moui-nfuUy he dropped the glass, 

And saw — but woods and sand. 



71 

The next toast was as follows : — 

The Elder and the Younger Quincy—Thej honor our Associa- 
tion by their presence. 

Wliile for the formn; Time, with friendly liaiid, 
And all reluctant, slowly turns the sand, 
The latOr shows aome marks— we hope unfclt, 
Of early snows that summer will not melt. 
I crave" their pardon, hut must ask for one, 
IIow shall wc know the father from the son ? 

This sentiment excited great merriment. Hon Josiah 
Qn'mcy, junior, rose in the midst of the universal laughter, 
and cried out—" Gentlemen, I introduce to you my son, who 
sits on the right of the chair." The venerable President 
auincy then rose, was greeted with a cordial welcome, and 
proceeded to speak, with severity, of the disobedience of 
some sons. He entertained the company with some humor- 
ous remarks, congratulating all present upon the festive 
occasion, and extending a welcome to all. For himself, he 
had been asked, " What business have you here?" " O, I 
come by invitation." " Then you are not a Cape Codder." 
Now, as other gentlemen had laid their claims to being Cape 
Codders before the meeting, he should do the same. Now, 
his grandmother was a Cape Codder, and he had no doubt 
but that his father had dug clams, or caught fish and eels 
there. His great-grandfather had told his grandfather he 
had seen a nice girl, and he must make himself agreeable. 
Now, in those days, sons were in the habit of obeying their 
father's instructions ; and that the gentleman did make him- 
self agreeable to Miss Sturgis, was pretty well proved by 
the fact of his being here. He concluded with the follow- 



ms :- 



The Inhabitants of Cape CoJ.— Now and always distinguished 
for their energy and enterprise, and for their prudence. 

Mr. auincy, Jr., now responded to his half of the senti- 
ment above given, and among other things said that he " was 
a wise child that knew his own father," and then gave :— 

TheSom of Cape Cud— May they always he better men than 
their fathers. 



72 

Next regular toast : — 

The Fishermen of Cape Obc^— Misfortunes may fall upon them, 
and poverty may knock at their doors : They may be de^s/ient 
oafish, or their children clamorous for clams, but you never will 
catch them doing a scaly thing. 

The band here struck up the air, 

"It was Sam Jones, the Fisherman.'' 

" The health of Hon. Wm. Sturgis — the first to introduce 
the ladies of Cape Cod to a participation in public social 
pleasures," was given as a volunteer toast, and elicited a 
witty speech from that gentleman, who concluded by giv- 
ing :— 

The Health of Woman — God bless her. We all love her, and 
well we may. 

Col. Samuel Swett then spoke as follows : — 

Richard Bourne, one of the earliest settlers at Sandwich in 
1630, preached or prophecied to his associates until Rev. John 
Smith, previously minister at Barnstable, became their pastor. 
He then went as an apostle to the Indians, and purchased, at his 
own expense, of Quachatisset and others, a most eligible territory 
of sixteen square miles, for the permanent abode of the Marshpee 
or South Sea Indians. In 1670, he was ordained as their 
pastor, by Rev. John Cotton and the apostle Eliot ; and so rapid 
was their improvement, that their next pastor was one of the 
tribe — -Simon Popmonet. 

Shearjashub, son of Richard, was the Superintendent of the 
Indians, and resided on their territorj^ He procured from the 
Colony of Plymouth an irrevocable law, confirming the grant of the 
territory to the tribe, and rendering it inalienable without their 
unanimous consent. To the honor of Plymouth, and of Massa- 
chusetts since the union of those colonics, this law has been reli- 
giously observed ; and the petty remnant of the tribe are now 
owners of the soil. 

Hon. Ezra Bourne, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, son of 
Sheai;jashub, succeeded his father as Superintendent; and Jo- 
seph, son of Ezra, succeeded Popmonet as their pastor. Thirteen 
years afterward, he resigned, and was succeeded by Solomon 
Bryant, one of the tribe. But he rendered afterward important 
aid to that eminent missionary Hawley, personally known by 
Chief Justice Shaw and a few others present. 

Sylvanus Bourne, son of Melatiah and grandson of Ezra, was 
a wealthy merchant of Barnstable, and for many years one of the 



( Jovernor's Council. He married Mercy Gorham, a descendant of 
Governor Carver. Her portrait, by Copley, in ITGi!, han^^s in our 
hall to-night. She holds in her hand, most heretically, an English 
prayer-book. A number of her family, about this time, became Epis- 
copal ; and probably the sweet face of Mercy allured her husband 
from the Puritanic fold hito the domain of the Church of England, 
■which, in the opinion of our ancestors, was no better than the 
domain of the scarlet lady of Babylon. A farther departure from 
Orthodoxy appears in one of her letters, in which she praises 
some wine presented to her, and remarks that her taste in Avine 
had been commended by Judge Dudley. But her kind and 
motherly character, so admirably portrayed by the artist, makes 
ample amends for all her delinquencies. It also appears in her 
letter that she was " manufacturing for her house a peculiar wool 
shirting." Now, from the remotest antiquity, staying at home 
and manufacturing wool has been acknowledged to be the unques- 
tionable criterion of womanly perfection. The Roman maxim was, 
domum mansit lanam fecit ; while the words of Holy Writ are, 
" She seeketh wool," and " her hands hold the distaff." 

The Indians, superlative friends, though diabolical foes, were, 
as may well be supposed, devoted heart and soul to the Boui-nes ; 
and they enjoyed, at this period, a signal opportunity to manifest 
their gratitude and repay the family for their kmdness toward 
them during so many generations. WiUiam, the child of Mercy 
Bourne, was prostrate with appalling disease, pronounced by all 
the civihzed faculty to be utterly hopeless. But the Indians were 
too affectionate to surrender themselves to despair, and they came 
forward with the medicme man of their tribe to the rescue. 
The tender mother did not hesitate to submit her beloved son im- 
plicitly to his savage rites ; and, from that very hour, the child 
was made whole. He served afterwards, in Gorham's Rangers, 
at Louisburg, and was a Avealthy merchant at Marblehead. His 
influence, as a Justice also, of one of the Courts, was so pre- 
dominant in procuring the greatest bridge probably at that time 
in the country — the one at Newbury — that he had the honor of 
being the first to pass over it. He was Colonel of the IMilitia, 
also, and died in 1770, so highly respected that, in 1775, his 
widow was informed In' the }3ritish Admiral that, though the 
town of Marblehead Avere bombarded, her house should be un- 
harmed. The very conspicuous authors, W. B. O. and O. W. B. 
Peabody, were his grandsons. Hon. Benjamin Bourne, of Bris- 
tol, R. I., a Judge of the Circuit Court of the United States, 
was a grandson of the aforesaid Ezra Bourne, and at one period 
he and two other grandsons of Ezra were Rcjircsentatives in 
Congress from three different States. 



74 

Hon. Francis Bassett, one of the Vice Presidents, was 

called upon to give a toast complimentary to the ladies, in 

his capacity of a bachelor. After a very humorous preface, 

he gave : — 

The Ladies — They -will always respect, for they always will be 
respected by, the gallant and enterprising men of Cape Cod. 

The band immediately played, 

" Barney, let the girls alone." 

The following toast was then given : — 

Amongst the portraits that look down upon us this evening may 
be seen the benignant countenance of Elder Samuel Prence. 
Respected and honored in his day and generation, posterity has 
not ceased to revere his memory. 

Rev. Chandler Robbins, one of his descendants, made a few 
brief but very interesting remarks, and concluded with a 
very appropriate sentiment. 

Hon. Thomas Prince Beal responded to a call made upon 
him in a ready, witty and eloquent strain, which gave much 
pleasure to those who heard him. 

The next toast was : — 

George S. Hillard — A descendant from the Pilgrims ; clas- 
sical and eloquent, never rough, but always ready. 

Mr. Hillard made reply in his usual eloquent manner. It 
was full of feeling and sentiment that will not be soon for- 
got. Mr. H. concluded by giving : — 

Cape Cod — The first place that sheltered the Pilgrims, whose 
inhabitants will be the last to abandon their principles. 

Chief Justice Shaw gave the following toast : — 

The Natives of Cape Cod — Bound by ties of unchanging affec- 
tion to their dear native land, and the home of their earliest 
years, however separated by time or distance — may they ever have 
the heartfelt conviction that there is ever awaiting their return 
" a welcome home." 

The next regular toast was : — 

Honor to him who faithfully represented the Cape for twenty 
years in the Congress of the United States. In bringing hjm 
here, 

We only meant 

To show tlie Reed on which they leant. 



75 

Hon. John Reed replied in a few brief words, and olfered 
a sentiment complimentary to the citizens of Ca])e Cod. 
The next toast was : — 

The Clergy — They pilot us by their precept, and their exainiile 
is such that -we feel safe to steer our com-sc by its beacon lijhl. 

Rev. Charles Brooks replied to this call, as follows : — 

Mr. Chairman: — In reply in^g to your call, I have thought it 
might not be uninteresting to state the cause and occasion of the 
writing of that popular little poem on the " Landing of the Pil- 
grim Fathers," by Mrs. llemans. During a short and delightful 
stay at her house in DubUn, Ireland, in July, 1834, I had a long 
conversation with her. She expressed a deep interest in the 
United States ; and said that she had been better understood in 
Massachusetts than in England. 

She uttered with deep feeling her profound gratitude to Pro- 
fessor Norton of Cambridge, for the delicate and efficient manner 
in which he had commended her to the American pubhc ; for the 
generosity with which he had published, at his own risk, a beauti- 
ful edition of all her works, and then sent his ai)probation of her 
in that substantial and unecpiivocal form, which admits of no mis- 
construction,— /-)0«»rZs sterlhifj. This patronage stimulated her 
to efforts, which, otherwise, she would not have made. 

She told me, that of the many strangers and foreigners, who 
had visited her within the last three years, she had been most 
gratified with the Americans ; and named one or two as signal 
examples. She was as truthful in her words as she Avas pure in 
her thoughts ; and in thought no angel was purer. 

In her conversation she was simple and glowing, and seemed 
without effort to throw the prismatic colors of her own idea upon 
every object she touched. I was struck with her deep sense of 
justice when she spoke of her sister spirits, Joanna Bailie, Caro- 
line Bowles, Mary Mitford, Letitia Landon and Mary llowitt. 
She never spoke of them as rivals or competitors, but as friends 
and companions. 

I told her, that as a member of the Old Colony Pilgrim Society, 
I had a right to thank her, in their name, for her true and touch- 
ing little poem on the landing of the pilgrim fathers. _ " Well, 
said she, should you like to know how I came to write it?" 
"certainly I should," was my reply. She said it was thus, — " I 
purchased two volumes at the bookstore and brought them home, 
and as I laid them on my table my eye was attracted by their 
envelope, which proved to be eight pages 8vo, of an address de- 
livered at Plvmmith on some anniversary. There was no title 
page and no date. The excellence of the paper and the beauty 



76 

of the type first arrested my attention ; but, how this stray frag- 
ment got to Ireland, I could never ascertain. I began to read, 
and I found it contained an entire description of the fact of land- 
ing, and so beautiful was the painting and so thrilling the fact, 
that I could not rest till I had thrown them into verse ; I took off 
my bonnet, seized my pen, and having read and re-read the story, 
I caught the fire from this transatlantic torch and began to write, 
and before I was aware I had finished my poem." 

I then told her how much we valued the lines for their truth- 
fulness and spirit, and how I had stood with a thousand persons 
in the old Pilgrim Church, at Plymouth, on " Forefathers' Day," 
and sung with them her exquisite hymn. At this remark a tear 
stole into her eye. "But," said I, "my dear madam, there are 
two lines of that poem which the descendants of the Pilgrims 
prize above the rest." "Ah ! which are they ? " I began to re- 
peat — ^" They left unstained what there they /t'?m(^;" — " ! yes," 
said she, interrupting me hastily, and then reciting the next hne, 
" Freedom to worship God." " Yes," I replied, " Freedom to 
worship (roc?." Then raising her voice, her eye at the same mo- 
ment beaming with religious enthusiasm, she exclaimed — "It is 
the truth there, which makes the poetry." Yes, Mr. Chairman, 
it is the truth there which malces the 'poetry— for, so true is that 
poem to the facts and feelings of the case, that this fortunate lady 
has connected her name forever with the shore of Plymouth and 
the landing of our fathers; yes, so long as "the breaking waves 
dash high on that stern and rock-bound coast," to chant their 
ocean-dirge at the grave of the Pilgrim, so long shall be joined 
in the sacred requiem the name of Felicia Hemans. 

When about to say farewell to this charming lady, she took my 
hand and said — " When you next meet with your pilgrim society 
present them my heartfelt thanks for their flattering partiality 
towards me, and tell them that I wish each one of them prosperity 
and happiness." 

Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, I have not been able to meet 
with our pilgrim society since that event, and therefore I avail 
myself of this opportunity, the most proper that could happen, to 
discharge my long cherished, well-remembered, religious trust. 

The following was then offered as a sentiment, by a mem- 
ber of the Association : — 

I will propose the health of a South Shore farmer and a Cape 
Cod fisherman, one who has exhausted its streams of their trout, 
and has always been "high line " when fishing in deeper waters: 
Daniel Webster. 

This sentiment excited six liearty cheers. Mr. Crocker 
then read the following letter: — 



77 

Marshfield, October 18, 1851. 
Henry A. Scudder, Esq. 

Dear Sir: — I quite regret that my public duties call me so im- 
peratively to Washington, that it is not in my power to accept the 
very kind invitation of the Executive Committee of the Cape Cod 
Association, to attend their cclcliration on the eleventh of Novem- 
ber. Were it otherwise, I should meet the Association with great 
pleasure. It has so happened that, since I came to [Massachusetts, 
I have had more acquaintance with the inhabitants of the county 
of Barnstable, than almost any other county in the State, except 
Suftblk and Essex ; and I have learned to estimate them very 
highly. 

The list of the officers of your Association sufficiently shows 
what contributions of talent and distinction Cape Cod has made 
to the Capital and to the State, in judicature and the legal pro- 
fession, in divinity, in the highest branches of commercial enter- 
prise, and in the general business of the community. 

With many thanks to the Committee and to yourself, I remain, 
dear sir, your obhged humble servant, 

Daniel Webster. 

The following volunteer was given : — 

Son. Robert C. Winthrop — We would not covet our neighbors 
goods, but we should be proud to claim him as a Cape Cod man. 

The following letter was then read : — 

Boston, 11th Nov. 1851, 3 o'clock, P. M. 
My dear Sir : — I regret extremely that an unexpected and un- 
avoidable engagement depz'ives me, at this last moment, of the 
pleasure I had anticipated in dining with the Cape Cod Associa- 
tion. I pray you to make my respectful apology to the Commit- 
tee, and to the Company, and to propose to them, in my name, if 
an opportunity should occur, the subjoined sentiment. 

Cape Cod — A Cape of Crood Hope to the Pilgi-ims ; a Cape of 
glorious fruition to their posterity ; New England owes to it the 
safety of the IMavHower ; the Nation owes to it the earliest and 
ablest defender of its liberties ; the world owes to it the first ex- 
ample of a written compact of self-government. Success and 
happiness to its sons and daughters, whether on the sea or on the 
shore. 

Believe me, dear sir, with great regard. 

Your friend and obedient servant, 

Robert C. Winturop. 
H. A. Scudder, Esq., Cor. Sec. 



78 

The following toasts and letters now succeeded : — 

Son. Edward Everett — We regret that one of -whom it is pro- 
verbial to say "he doeth all things well," should be so ill himself, 
as not to be present. His address at the Barnstable Centennial 
Celebration has endeared him to all Cape Cod men. 

Cambridge, November 3, 1851. 

Dear Sir : — I duly received your favor of the 15th of Octo- 
ber, conveying to me the kind invitation of the Executive Com- 
mittee of the Cape Cod Association, to attend their anniversary 
celebration on the 11th mst. 

Nothing of the kind would afford me greater pleasure, than to 
be present on so interesting an occasion. I recollect as one of 
the most joyous days of my life, the 3d of September, 1839, 
when I had the pleasure of meeting many of the gentlemen, who 
have since united themselves in your Association, then assembled 
at the celebration of the settlement of Barnstable. I perceive 
from the Constitution of your Association, that the spirit and 
feelings which animated the company on that happy occasion, will 
be cherished and perpetuated in your annual meetings. Your 
Association will need no stronger assurance of success. 

I deeply regret, gentlemen, that the state of my health is such 
as to compel me at present, to avoid as much as possible, the ex- 
citement of pubhc meetings and public speaking ; and that I must 
for that reason deny myself the gratification of partaking your 
hospitality. With the best wishes for the prosperity of the Cape 
Cod Association, 

I remain, dear Sir, 

Very respectfully, yours, 

Edward Everett. 

The City of Boston — Our adopted Hone — Cape Cod has been 
called a good place to come from. Her young men have found 
Boston a good place to come to. 

City Hall, November 11, 1851. 
Gentlemen : — If my official engagements would permit, (which 
they do not) it would afford me great pleasure to accept your 
kind invitation. The high respectability of most of those of our 
citizens who hail from the county of Barnstable, would alone enti- 
tle any gathering of her sons to deferential regard. The mer- 
cantile and mechanical interests of Boston have been essentially 
advanced by their industry and public spirit, while the pulpit, the 
bar, and the bench have been occupied by them with distinguished 
honor and usefulness. Indeed, in all the stations of life, the sons 
of Cape Cod have given proof of eminent ability and moral worth. 
It might seem as if the hymn of the ocean, with its glorious asso- 



79 

ciations, to which they listened in their earliest days, had influ- 
enced their characters and tuned them for noble and honorable 
deeds. 

Your borders first received the foot-prints of the fathers of 
New England. In your waters they framed and signed that 
immortal compact Avliich has been called the first pillar of Ameri- 
can constitutional liberty. Permit mc then to offer, as a senti- 
ment : — 

Cape Cod — Her shores first welcomed the weary Pilgrims ; 
may her sons never be false to their memory, or their prmciples. 
I am, with great regard, 

Your friend and servant, 

John P. Bigelow. 
To the Executive Committee of the Cape Cod Association. 

United States Senate — The conservative branch of the Gov- 
ernment. jNIay it ever be distinguished for the dignity, abiUty 
and pohtical integrity of its members. 

Boston, Nov. 11th, 1851. 

Dear Sir, — As we look at the map of the United States, the 
promontory of Cape Cod seems like an arm thrust through the 
sea, and bent to embrace our beloved Massachusetts. This 
image is typical of the hospitalities which its children now unite . 
to offer. 

To share these, would be a pleasure. I am glad to hear that 
there are many who will be able to do this, and I regret that I 
cannot be of the company. 

At the present moment, such an occasion of kindly fellowship 
and good will is tempting. Amidst the din of political strife, you 
raise a white flag of peace, beneath which all parties and combat- 
ants may gather in happy harmony. ]Mindful of this most agree- 
able character of your social assembly, allow me to enclose a 
sentiment, which, I trust, will be found congenial with the hour, 
and grateful to good men of all parties. 

The Demon of l^olitical Strife. If it cannot be exorcised 
from public affairs, let us at least prevent the evil spirit from 
taking a place at the family hearth, from entering the private 
circle, or from troubling the charities of life. 

Believe me, dear sir, faithfully yours, 

Charles Sumner. 

H. A. ScuDDER, Secretary. 

Other letters of apology were also read, and many senti- 
ments were likewise ollered. The festivities were kept up a 
short time longer, the evening's enjoyments being closed by 
tills original sons: : — 



80 

Tune — "auld i.ang stne." 

We gather here at friendship's call, 
And bow before her shrine ; 
A meeting sweet of kith and kin, 
Tor auld lang syne. 

For auld lang syne, my friends, 

For auld lang syne ; 

A meeting sweet of kith and kin. 

For auld lang syne. 

Here soul meets soul, and heart meets heart, 
A thousand hands clasp mine ; 
A thousand voices raise the song 
Of auld lang syne. 

Of auld lang syne, my friends, 

Of auld lang syne ; 

A thousand voices raise the song 

Of auld lang syne. 

The generous heai-ted, honest man, 
He blessed is of God : 
Then may they all be such who hail 
From auld Cape Cod. 

From auld Cape Cod, my friends. 

From auld Cape Cod ; 

Then may they all be such who hail 

From anld Cape Cod. 

From those that liave, withhold thy hand, 
They ask no aid of thine : 
But help a fallen brother up 
For auld lang syne. 

For auld lang syne, my friends, 

For auld lang syne ; 

But help a fallen brother up 

For auld lang syne. 

The hour has come when we must part, 
These social jo3's resign ; 
Oh, may we meet again ere this 
Becomes lang syne. 

Becomes lang syne, my friends, 

Becomes lang syne ; 

Oh, may we meet again ere this 

Becomes lang syne. 

Which was followed by a warm and earnest benediction, 
by Rev. Chandler Robbins. 

After the removal of the tables, a large portion of the 
company remained, and engaged in dancing till a late hour. 
The best feeling prevailed, and everything contributed to 
the pleasure of tbe occasion. 



HfyVOT 



